During 2006 and 2007, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Network on Mental Health Policy Research commissioned a series of working papers to stimulate agenda building and encourage future funding of mental health research in areas that do not pertain directly to mental health, such as education, housing, criminal justice, disparities and welfare.

The Network on Mental Health Policy Research is a research network sponsored by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to develop a knowledge base linking mental health policies, financing and organization to their effects on access to quality care.

Members of the network co-authored the commissioned papers with experts in a non-mental health field. On May 9–10, 2007, all authors attended a meeting in Miami to discuss the papers and offer critiques. Based on these discussions, the authors revised and finalized the papers.

Key Results

The eight commissioned papers include:

• "Housing Policy in Persons with Mental Illness: Research Gaps and Opportunities," Newman S and Goldman H.
• "Mental Health and Education Policy: Research Issues & Opportunities," Kataoka S, Hoagwood K and Rowan B.
• "Income Support, Employment and Social Insurance Programs," Danziger S, Frank R and Meara E.
• "Productivity Growth and Technology Diffusion in the Treatment of Mental Illness," Drake R and Skinner J.
• "Managing Dangerousness: New Models for Collaboration between Justice & Mental Health Systems," Fagan J, Cocozza J and Morrissey J.
• "The Role of Culture, Race and Ethnicity in Health and Mental Health Disparities," Miranda J, McGuire T, Wang P and Williams D.
• "What Is Old Is New Again: A Research Agenda for Stewardship in an Age of Ambiguity and Wicked Problems," Brown L, Hogan M and Isett K.
• "Competition Policy and Mental Health Care," Cuellar A and Hass-Wilson D.

Funding

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) supported this project through an unsolicited grant of $50,000 to the Technical Assistance Collaborative, which served as the project's fiscal agent.

Additional funding included a portion of the $100,000 that the MacArthur Foundation provides annually to the network as core support.

After the Grant

Project staff is submitting the eight papers to the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management.

The Network on Mental Health Policy Research will continue its effort to stimulate agenda building by convening a working conference in April 2008, tentatively entitled "From Research to Policy: A Mental Health Research Agenda for the 21st Century." The papers produced in this project are intended to inform discussions at the conference.