The current project was designed to build on earlier work and expand on issues identified in the New Freedom Commission’s report. Specifically, the project consisted of a series of unstructured interviews with more than thirty individuals involved in mental and behavioral health services in rural and frontier America. In addition, over 200 NARMH members responded to a series of questions regarding the current status of rural and frontier mental and behavioral health. The information accumulated through these two approaches was used to prepare the current report which focuses on the following areas: Barriers to mental and behavioral health service delivery in rural America Model programs and effective activities for rural America Model policy strategies for rural mental and behavioral health care delivery The role telehealth should play in service delivery to rural America The role that State Offices of Rural Health and other state and local organizations should play in service delivery to rural America
In this report, findings regarding each of these issues will be considered separately. In each case, a comprehensive list of the points raised by respondents regarding the issue will be reported, followed by a brief discussion of that issue
