Southwestern Plains Hub of CMHIS

Overview

CMHIS is housed at the Stanford Center for Dissemination and Implementation in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine. CMHIS, along with the Southwestern Plains Hub and the other four bi-regional hubs, draws on the latest research and extensive experiential knowledge of how to sustainably implement practices to support organizations and systems in improving mental health care. We can help you map the course to desired changes, navigate roadblocks, and provide support to ensure that the people who need it receive the excellent mental health care that providers always strive to deliver.


People seeking mental health care often have difficulty accessing care or receiving the most effective treatments. When organizations providing mental health care try implementing new services, they often run into organizational or systemic barriers. Sometimes, new practices may be deemed to “not work” when it could be the result of these barriers.

Fortunately, with implementation support, organizations can learn to anticipate and address communication, coordination, workforce knowledge and skills, and other barriers and resource gaps.

We can help your organization or system improve the delivery of mental health care by supporting you in preparing, implementing, and sustaining effective prevention, treatment, and recovery programs and services.

We offer support in the following areas:

  • Engaging the community and assessing their mental health needs
  • Identifying factors that influence implementation
  • Deciding what support is needed to implement a new practice
  • Measuring patient progress over time
  • Marketing programs and services
  • Using data to improve service delivery
  • Evaluating program outcomes
  • Sustaining service delivery

We serve HHS Regions 6 and 8, which include Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. These regions are home to over 94 federally recognized tribes in the U.S.

Our Goals

  • Strengthen systems and organizations by helping them prepare for, implement, and sustain evidence-based prevention, treatment, and recovery programs.

  • Build capacity to overcome barriers such as limited resources, workforce challenges, and coordination gaps.

  • Empower communities to engage meaningfully in assessing needs, shaping solutions, and sustaining impact.

  • Use data for improvement, ensuring that services are responsive, effective, and equitable.

  • Promote collaboration across HHS Regions 6 and 8 to share knowledge, tools, and strategies that drive lasting change.

Area of Focus

  • Community Engagement and Needs Assessment
    Supporting organizations in understanding local mental health needs and engaging stakeholders to inform program design and implementation.

  • Implementation Planning and Support
    Identifying factors that influence success, selecting evidence-based practices, and determining the level of support needed to ensure effective implementation.

  • Workforce Development
    Strengthening the skills, knowledge, and capacity of the mental health workforce to deliver and sustain effective services.

  • Data and Evaluation
    Helping organizations measure progress, evaluate outcomes, and use data to drive quality improvement and decision-making.

  • Communication and Social Marketing
    Promoting awareness, alignment, and engagement around mental health programs and services through strategic communication.

  • Sustainability Planning
    Strengthening infrastructure and capacity to maintain effective programs and services over time.

Resources