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Abstract: 

Despite acknowledgement in recent years of the existence of scientifically validated or evidence-based treatments (EBTs) for children and adolescents with mental health problems, a substantial gap exists between their development and their adoption in community practice. To address the disparity between research evidence and clinical practice, a growing number of U.S. states are beginning to experiment with different ways of incorporating EBTs into state-level training and dissemination initiatives. Beginning in 2005, the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) contracted with Columbia University to provide expert consultation and support to front-line clinicians and supervisors to begin a statewide EBT training and dissemination program, the Evidence-Based Treatment Dissemination Center (EBTDC), to improve the quality of clinical care for youth and families in New York. This paper describes the impetus for the program, the program’s goals and key research questions, the EBTDC model, the findings from the first two-year program cycle, and areas for improvement and future directions to explore.

Keywords: 

Affiliations:  1: Columbia University Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry; 2: Columbia University Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry; 3: New York State Office of Mental Health; 4: Columbia University Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry; 5: Columbia University Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.