The attendees' expertise and perspectives are crucial to establishing a policy research agenda that bridges academic rigor with practical application and implementation considerations
On July 10, 2025, SSW's Innovations Institute convened policy experts and leading researchers from across the U.S. to establish priorities for research initiatives that can inform states and the federal government on the best policy strategies for investing limited resources to improve outcomes for children, youth, and their families.
The inaugural Youth/Family Behavioral Health Research Summit focused on critical research and policy questions and provided actionable and concrete strategies and solutions to challenges across public child- and family-serving agencies and systems. Read the Summit report.
From the Report: "The current turmoil in our funding and policy context requires solutions that mobilize existing wisdom and knowledge and maximize returns on investments in public youth- and family-serving systems."
The results of the Summit identified opportunities for collaboration and partnership around analyzing data; compiling, synthesizing, and reporting on evidence; conducting new research; and disseminating findings for real-world applications to improve public sector services for youth and their families. Innovations brought together 41 leading researchers who, moving forward, can effectively partner in implementing the strategies and focus areas identified during the summit, ultimately informing policy solutions based on the best evidence available.
Prior to the summit, Innovations developed and disseminated materials to all participants including findings from a systematic review of peer-reviewed and gray literature from the last decade regarding policy priorities for children and youth with behavioral health needs and complex multi-system involvement and summaries of current federal priorities. Innovations crowd-sourced a bibliography to expand the shared knowledge base and disseminated a survey to State Children's Mental Health Directors, associations, youth and family leaders, and other key experts in the field of children's services. This information was used to plan and facilitate large and small group discussions with confirmed participants.
During the summit Innovations prioritized dissemination opportunities for policy research activities and discussed how the group can collaborate to elevate their work across shared priorities on behalf of children, youth, and families. The group identified priorities for large dataset analyses and policy research proposals based on needs identified by federal, state, and local government agencies; training and technical assistance partners; and family, youth, and community-based organizations and partners.
The expertise and perspective of this national group were essential to establishing a policy research agenda that bridges academic rigor with practical application and implementation considerations. The summit results can be used to inform research proposals, partner with funders, conduct secondary data analysis, disseminate needed information to decision-makers, and develop tools needed to support research that can best inform public youth and family serving systems of care. The ultimate goal for this work is to inform and undertake a research agenda for youth and family behavioral health that can meet the information needs of policy makers and tangibly improve policies, public systems, and services for youth and families.
The inaugural Youth/Family Behavioral Health Research Summit was hosted by Innovations Institute at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work, and partially supported through funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
