Contact: Lauren Necochea

Contact: Lauren Necochea

Office: 208-947-4257

Cell: 208-350-3106

Email:

Idaho Voices for Children Receives Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Grant to Address Gaps in Behavioral Healthcare Access in Idaho

BOISE, IDAHO —Idaho Voices for Children, a program of Jannus, Inc., has been awarded a Consumer Advocacy for Transformation grant of $275,000 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to transform Idaho’s behavioral health system through integrated care and increased access.

The grant will support a two-year project that will bring together various stakeholders and consumer voices to concentrate on policy solutions for cost-effective integration of behavioral health into Idaho’s broader health delivery system.

“At this time of massive changes in our health system, it is essential that consumers are represented in decisions that will affect their care,” said David Adler, senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “The foundation is proud to support consumers’ advocates who are working towards a higher-value, more patient-centered health system.”

Idaho Voices for Children director Lauren Necochea said, “Access to behavioral health care is a critical family issue. While our state has made some progress, our system is not meeting the needs of thousands of Idahoans who struggle with mental illness and substance use disorders. Through this initiative, we will help ensure that youth, parents, and other Idahoans have improved access to critical behavioral health services.”

Idaho invests less per capita in mental health services than any other state.[1] Many Idahoans can only access limited services and only at times of crisis. Through this grant, Idaho Voices for Children will advocate for improved care and address disparities and inequities within Idaho’s system for adults and children in need of behavioral health care. The project will convene consumers of behavioral health services and other stakeholders to form a new coalition and strengthen the capacity of consumers to engage in behavioral health system transformation.

Specific goals of the project include advancing the integration of behavioral health into primary health care delivery, maintaining and increasing comprehensive health coverage for vulnerable populations, and creating access to mental health and substance abuse treatment services.

Idaho Voices for Children encourages those who have experience with Idaho’s behavioral health system to share their story. Consumers, consumer advocates, family members, law enforcement, healthcare workers, and others who would like to get involved with this effort should contact Ceci Thunes, Health Policy Specialist with Idaho Voices for Children, at 208-947-4273 or .

Empower Idaho will partner with Idaho Voices for Children to assist with coalition-building and consumer connections. “Our statewide reach and role as the voice and resource hub for consumers of behavioral health services makes this an ideal match. We’re thrilled to be involved and look forward to working with Idaho Voices for Children on this critical project,” said Empower Idaho’s program director, Katrina Hoff. Empower Idaho (formerly known as the Office of Consumer and Family Affairs) promotes mental well-being in Idaho through education, community involvement, and individual empowerment. It is also a program of Jannus, Inc.

Idaho Voices for Children and other grantees in the national Consumer Advocacy for Transformation program are pursuing state and local health system changes that aim to develop and insert an organized, influential and permanent consumer voice in state and local health system changes. Community Catalyst’s Center for Consumer Engagement in Health Innovation will provide critical oversight and expertise for the program. The Center and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are part of a larger effort to increase health care value by preserving efforts to increase access to care, improving health outcomes and lowering costs, especially for populations with disproportionately poor health outcomes.

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About Idaho Voices for Children

Idaho Voices for Children works to develop and promote a statewide public policy agenda that advocates for children on issues of health, education, safety and family economic security. Learn more at idahovoices.org.

About Jannus, Inc.

Jannus, Inc. is a diverse health and human services organization that changes lives every day. It engages compassionate people offering strong programs that help ease individuals and families through difficult challenges or new transitions in areas of community health, public policy and economic opportunity. Learn more at jannus.org.

About the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

For more than 40 years the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has worked to improve health and health care. We are striving to build a national Culture of Health that will enable all to live longer, healthier lives now and for generations to come. For more information, visit Follow the Foundation on Twitter at or on Facebook at

About Community Catalyst

Community Catalyst is a national, non-profit consumer advocacy organization founded in 1998 with the belief that affordable quality health care should be accessible to everyone. We work in partnership with national, state and local organizations, policymakers, and philanthropic foundations to ensure consumer interests are represented wherever important decisions about health and the health system are made: in communities, courtrooms, statehouses and on Capitol Hill. For more information, visit Read our blog at Follow us on Twitter @healthpolicyhub.

About the Center for Consumer Engagement in Health Innovation

The Center for Consumer Engagement in Health Innovation at Community Catalyst serves as a hub devoted to teaching, learning and sharing knowledge to bring the consumer experience to the forefront of health innovation in order to deliver better care, better value and better health for every community, particularly vulnerable and historically underserved populations. The Center’s work is supported through investments in state and local advocacy, leadership development, research and evaluation, and consultative services to delivery systems and health plans. Visit healthinnovation.org or follow them on Twitter @CCEHI to learn more and follow their work.

[1] A 2014 study by the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors ranks Idaho 52nd (last) for state mental health spending.