The Mental Health Services and Policy Program (MHSPP) at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine is a multidisciplinary program with research, education, and program management initiatives. MHSPP focuses on research informing our understanding of access to, organization and financing of, and outcomes from behavioral health services. Founded in 1992, MHSPP currently has six faculty, approximately 40 staff, and eight doctoral students.

MHSPP is affiliated with the doctoral program in clinical psychology in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences. More than 30 students have received doctoral degrees while studying in MHSPP since its inception. Graduates are currently on the faculty at Harvard, Yale, UCLA, Loyola, and DePaul. One recent graduate is currently a congressional fellow. The program is also affiliated with the Master in Public Health program in the Department of Preventive and Community Medicine. Each summer, MHSPP sponsors 4-6 summer interns who are undergraduates seeking experiences to facilitate graduate school applications. Four undergraduates from the Evanston Campus have completed honors thesis under the mentorship of MHSPP faculty.

The program management functions of MHSPP include participation in a number of activities with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS). These include the Residential Performance Monitoring Unit, where MHSPP staff many of the monitoring positions and two thirds of the quality improvement team. For IDCFS we also assist in monitoring the SOC program, Specialized Foster Care, the Child and Youth Investment Teams, and the Integrated Assessment process. For the Division of Mental Health, we provide program management assistance for the Mental Health Juvenile Justice Initiative. For Healthcare and Family Services, MHSPP provides evaluation and outcomes management for the state-wide Screening and Support Services (SASS) program.