Behavioral Health Funders Network Meeting: Using Race, Ethnicity, and Language Evaluation Data to Advance Behavioral Health Equity

As funders working to advance health equity in our behavioral health portfolios, we often seek to support evaluation strategies that will identify and monitor the health disparities we are trying to address.  The use of race, ethnicity, and language data to improve behavioral health outcomes is not always straightforward, however, and funders can easily miss the mark in their portfolios. Ben Cook, Director of the Health Equity Research Lab at Cambridge Health Alliance, and Chris Sheldrick, Evaluation Director of the TEAM UP for Children integrated behavioral health initiative, are researchers working at the cutting edge of the responsible use of health equity data to drive improvement in behavioral health outcomes. Join Ben and Chris for an interactive conversation on what funders should consider when supporting evaluation to drive health equity in behavioral health, what we have learned about getting it right, and the questions we are still trying to answer. 

About the Network:

The Behavioral Health Funders Network (Network) is a state-wide network of funders working in the area of behavioral and mental health and wellness. For over 4 years the Network has been meeting regularly for peer learning, knowledge sharing, and relationship building. Key norms of this Network are trust, confidentiality, and a learning/growth mindset. 

The stated goals of the Network are: 1) Improve behavioral health services by providing a space and opportunity for learning from one another, and 2) Exchange information with the potential for collaboration on projects ranging in size from large, overarching initiatives to smaller community-based projects.