Grading the States 2009
Recovery for All
December 2008
The groundbreaking 2006 NAMI Grading the States report provided the first comprehensive state-by-state analysis of mental health care systems in 15 years. Every U.S. state was given a criteria-based score resulting in an overall grade and four sub-category grades for each state. With the national D average and no state receiving an A, the report provided NAMI advocates and State Mental Health Agencies (SMHAs) with important considerations for areas in need of improvement and system transformation.
NAMI has revisited the states in 2008 with a new survey to reevaluate SMHAs and is now gearing up for a Grading the States 2009 report. This new edition will feature grades based on the functionality of the state mental health systems and provision of quality services, including new measures on key cultural competence parameters.
Cultural competence is considered a key component of the success of the SMHAs and is one of the highest valued components of the total score given to each state. Cultural competence component scores are based on areas such as efforts to collect data on diverse populations, language access services, promotion of cultural competence among providers, and an evaluation of cultural competence plans. Thus, the report will provide important information for individuals advocating for the improvement of state cultural competence and disparity elimination.
Click here for more information on Grading the States 2009 including pre-release documents.
