Mental Health
BIP’s Mental Health research team operates with the ambitious goal of assessing the state of behavioral healthcare in Rhode Island and advocating for data-driven policy prescriptions to improve upon its shortcomings.
Overall Purpose
BIP’s Mental Health research team operates with the ambitious goal of assessing the state of behavioral healthcare in Rhode Island and advocating for data-driven policy prescriptions to improve upon its shortcomings. In the past, we have produced white papers regarding new models for the provision of behavioral health services in Providence area public schools, and we are currently endeavoring to improve access to these services statewide, across all age and socioeconomic groups through independent data analysis. In partnership with the Mental Health Association of Rhode Island (MHARI) and NAMI Rhode Island, we aim to examine disparities in mental health outcomes between subsets of the Rhode Island population and identify ways in which the state legislature can augment the existing behavioral health infrastructure in Rhode Island. In the course of pursuing these goals, we are striving to develop a more nuanced understanding of the state’s provider network, improve the system of health insurance coverage for behavioral health services in our state, and make incremental strides toward alleviating the pervasive implications of unaddressed mental health disorders for Rhode Island’s educational, public health, and criminal justice systems.
Accomplishments
The Mental Health team has produced its All-Payer Claims Database (APCD) Report on the state of stagnating reimbursement rates for behavioral health services in Rhode Island. They have published with their partner, the Mental Health Association of Rhode Island (MHARI), and finalized their School to Prison Pipeline Report, in support of alternative behavioral interventions rather than suspensions. These recommendations aim to better support the needs and mental health of students, and especially those belonging to marginalized groups. They plan to publish the report after incorporating final feedback from Brown University professors and Providence School District teachers. Additionally, they have provided written and verbal testimony in support of Rhode Island bills regarding 988 hotline funding, mandating the presence of social workers in schools, and requiring mental health curriculum for seventh-grade students.
Short-Term Goals
This year, we will begin a new project this semester, an internal review of mental health services at Brown/CAPS. We hope to collaborate with UCS, given this long-standing agenda item for the university student body, to utilize survey data to better evaluate students' feelings towards CAPS. Understanding peers' positive and negative experiences, along with external referral rates, will prove informative in gauging the efficacy of the university-provided service. We will evaluate the impact that Brown University students have had on mental health resource accessibility in Providence (i.e., if CAPS refers them to external providers, how has that accumulated to affect the availability of mental health services for other residents in Providence). This information will be used to provide recommendations to improve mental health services at Brown and to minimize the impact on the greater Rhode Island community.