An Academic and Practice Partnership to Assess the Behavioral Health Needs of Nebraska

Schools of Public Health have a commitment to engage in practice-based research and be involved in collaborative partnerships. In 2016 the faculty, staff, and students from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Behavioral Health collaborated to develop and administer a comprehensive assessment of the mental health and substance use disorder services provided by the Division of Behavioral Health. The purpose of this paper is to describe the process used to develop the trusting and mutually beneficial partnership and the data tools that were created and used to assess and determine the behavioral health needs. It is unrealistic to think that practitioners could undertake a project of this magnitude on their own. It is essential to have identified processes and systems in place for others to follow.