Name
Designing Integration with Data: Embedding Evaluation into School-Based Behavioral Health Transformation
Description

School-based health centers (SBHCs) are increasingly asked to expand behavioral health access while maintaining financial sustainability. This session describes a structured planning approach used at Denver Health to transform SBHC behavioral health services using the Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) model while embedding evaluation from the outset. Participants will learn how program design, operational workflows, financial modeling, and evaluation metrics were developed simultaneously to guide implementation. The session emphasizes practical methods for defining access, financial, and integration metrics before launch. Attendees will leave with a replicable framework for designing integrated care programs with built-in evaluation.

Co-Authors
Aiden Gilbert, Laura Podewils, Dr. Sonja O’Leary, Danielle Vice, Sandra Cherabie, Jade Williamson, Cherith Flowerday
Content Level
Intermediate
Tags
Research and evaluation, School-based, Sustainability
Session Type
Concurrent
Objective 1
Describe how embedding evaluation during program planning can support integrated behavioral health implementation in school-based settings.
Objective 2
Identify key access, workflow, and financial sustainability metrics used to guide integrated behavioral health program design.
Objective 3
Apply core principles from a logic model framework to align program activities with measurable outcomes in their own settings.
Content Reference 1

Love HE, Schlitt J, Soleimanpour S, Panchal N, Behr C. Twenty Years of School-Based Health Care Growth and Expansion. Health Affairs. 2019

Content Reference 2

Love HE, Schlitt J, Soleimanpour S, Panchal N, Behr C. Twenty Years of School-Based Health Care Growth and Expansion. Health Affairs. 2019 (older but still foundational)

Content Reference 3

Coming later