In July 2005, New Mexico became the first state to place all publicly funded behavioral health services under the management of a single for-profit private corporation, referred to locally as the “statewide entity.” This National Institute of Mental Health funded, multi-site ethnographic study (R01MH076084) documented the initial implementation of this unprecedented reform in New Mexico counties. We examined how administrators, providers, staff members and clients of behavioral health safety-net institutions (SNIs) experienced the implementation of this major change.
Selected Publications
Aarons, G. A., Sommerfeld, D. H., Willging, C. E. (2011). The soft underbelly of system change: The role of leadership and organizational climate in turnover during statewide behavioral health reform. Psychological Services, 8 (4) 269-281. DOI: 10.1037/a002619 PMCID: PMC3252234 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22229021
Hough, R. L., Willging, C. E., Altschul, D., Adelsheim, S. (2011). Workforce capacity for reducing rural disparities in public mental health services for adults with severe mental illness.. Journal of Rural Mental Health, 35 (2) 35-45. DOI: 10.1037/h0094772 PMCID: PMC3258030 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3258030/
Semansky, RM, Goodkind, J, Sommerfeld, DH, Willging, CE (2013). Culturally competent services within a statewide behavioral healthcare transformation: A mixed-method assessment. Journal of Community Psychology, 41 (3) 378-393. DOI: 10.1002/jcop.21544 PMCID: PMC4415618 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4415618/
Semansky, R., Willging, C., Ley, D. J., Rylko-Bauer, B. (2012). Lost in the rush to national reform: Recommendations to improve impact on behavioral health providers in rural areas. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 23 (2) 842-56. DOI: 10.1353/hpu.2012.0059 PMCID: PMC3415203 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3415203/
Semansky, R. M., Hodgkin, D., Willging, C. E. (2012). Preparing for a public sector mental health reform in New Mexico: The experience of agencies serving adults with serious mental illness. Community Mental Health Journal, 48 (3) 264-9. DOI: 10.1007/s10597-011-9418-5 PMCID: PMC3213275 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3213275/
Watson, M. K., Bonham, C. A., Willging, C. E., Hough, R. L. (2011). "An Old Way to Solve an Old Problem": Provider perspectives on recovery-oriented services and consumer capabilities in New Mexico.. Human Organization, 70 (2) 107-117. DOI: 10.17730/humo.70.2.d4213w7928457280 PMCID: PMC3164828 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3164828/
Willging, C. E., Goodkind, J., Lamphere, L., Saul, G., Fluder, S., Seanez, P. (2012). The impact of state behavioral health reform on Native American individuals, families, and communities.. Qualitative Health Research, 22 (7) 880-96. DOI: 10.1177/1049732312440329 PMCID: PMC3515637 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3515637/
Willging, C. E., Lamphere, L., Rylko-Bauer, B. (2015). The transformation of behavioral healthcare in New Mexico. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 42 (3) 343-55. DOI: 10.1007/s10488-014-0574-0 PMCID: PMC4281511 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4281511/
Willging, C. E., Semansky, R. (2014). State mental health policy: Back to the future: New Mexico returns to the early days of Medicaid managed care. Psychiatric Services, 65 (8) 970-2. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ps.201400102
Willging, C. E., Semansky, R. M. (2010). State mental health policy: It’s never too late to do it right: Lessons from behavioral health reform in New Mexico.. Psychiatric Services, 61 (7) 646-8. DOI: 10.1176/appi.ps.61.7.646 PMCID: PMC3081636 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3081636/
Willging, C. E., Sommerfeld, D. H., Aarons, G. A., Waitzkin, H. (2014). The effects of behavioral health reform on safety-net institutions: A mixed-method assessment in a rural state. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 41 (2) 276-91. DOI: 10.1007/s10488-012-0465-1 PMCID: PMC3987948 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23307162/
