About

Welcome to the website of the Mental Health Services & Policy Program (MHSPP) within the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences.

The mission of the Mental Health Services & Policy Program (MHSPP) is to improve the lives of individuals and families that receive publicly funded mental health services through research, evaluation, outcomes management, technical assistance and training.

For over 20 years, MHSPP has supported mental health and child welfare policymakers, administrators, and providers in delivering and evaluating the outcomes of trauma-informed care for youth in the public mental health and child welfare systems. Our research program has been funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Institutes of Health, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States Agency for International Development, National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, Illinois Department of Children & Family Services, Illinois Department of Human Services, and several private foundations.

MHSPP faculty, staff, and graduate students have clinical expertise in mental health and child welfare services delivery, expertise using large administrative databases to analyze mental health and child welfare services research questions, and strong working relationships with state and federal policymakers and providers in mental health and child welfare. Our research and evaluation projects involve collaborators within Northwestern and at other institutions across Chicago and the nation. We have a shared commitment to improving the lives of youth and families who interact with public mental health and child welfare systems.

Contact Neil Jordan, PhD, director, Cassandra Kisiel, PhD, associate director, or Richard Epstein, PhD, MPH, associate director by email for more information.