The Mission of the LINKS Initiative
To promote partnerships among state agencies and key stakeholder groups by weaving together existing efforts to create a more coordinated continuum of mental health services for Colorado children, youth, and families.
LINKS is unique in the history of behavioral health system reform in Colorado because it fully engages communities, youth and families – not only in developing the plan for reform, but in playing leadership roles in implementation and long-term activities within the system. It is not state government doing “business as usual,” but rather it is those affected the most by state government becoming active participants in opportunities to improve and enhance the current and future system.
The Three Priority Areas
- Integrate existing behavioral health efforts at the state and local level;
- Engage family and youth involvement in policymaking; and
- Streamline and integrate budgets, funding, & finance.
LINKS Partner Agencies
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
- Colorado Department of Human Services
- Colorado Department of Education
- Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing
- Colorado Department of Public Safety
- Colorado Association of Alcohol and Drug Service Providers
- Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council
- Colorado Child and Adolescent Mental Health Coalition
- Colorado System of Care Collaborative
- Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health ~ Colorado Chapter
- Mental Health America of Colorado
- Mental Health Planning and Advisory Council
- Prevention Leadership Council
- Center for Systems Integration
Funding
- Grant from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau
- Grant from the Colorado Health Foundation
- Matching funds for specific project components from the Prevention Leadership Council, the Division of Mental Health of the Colorado Department of Human Services, the Child, Adolescent and School Health Unit of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and the Exceptional Student Services Unit of the Colorado Department of Education
LINKS Project Director
The project director of the LINKS Initiative is Anne-Marie Braga of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment; Child, Adolescent, and School Health Section. For more information, please contact her at anne-marie.braga@state.co.us
LINKS MOU Partners
The MOU is an opportunity to affirm our shared values and create concrete ways for us to partner around priority issues, including integrating our behavioral health efforts; aligning budgeting, funding, and financing mechanisms; and increasing family and youth involvement in policymaking. The LINKS Initiative hopes to sign MOUs with over 30 interagency planning groups.
As of June 2008, MOU signatories include:
- Prevention Leadership Council
Attachments for MOU Partners:
Attachments
- Outcomes from the BIG Meeting III:
