Mental Health Agency Officials' Perceived Priorities for Youth Mental Health and Factors That Influence Priorities

Objective: This study aimed to characterize the perceived priorities of state and county policy makers for youth mental health services and the factors that influence those priorities. Methods: Mental health agency officials (N=338; N=221 state officials, N=117 county officials) representing 49 states completed a Web-based survey in 2019-2020. On 5-point scales, respondents rated the extent to which 15 issues were priorities for their agency in providing youth mental health services and the extent to which nine factors influenced those priorities. Results: Suicide was identified as the highest priority (mean +/- SD rating=4.38 +/- 0.94), followed by adverse childhood experiences and childhood trauma and then increasing access to evidence-based treatments. Budget issues (mean=4.27 +/- 0.92) and state legislative priorities (mean=4.01 +/- 0.99) were perceived as having the greatest influence on setting priorities. Conclusions: These findings provide insights into youth mental health policy priorities and can be used to guide implementation and dissemination strategies for research and program development within state and county systems.