Sustainability Planning for Rural Mental Health Programs
Sustainability planning is important to a program's long-term success. Sustainability planning should occur throughout a program's lifespan, from creating an initial sustainability plan to disseminating evaluation findings to a variety of audiences, including funders.
Particularly in rural communities, the population size may not be sufficient to meet the funding needs or reimbursement requirements of rural mental health programs. Therefore, it is critical to identify a variety of funding sources and consider additional strategies that support program sustainability.
Factors to consider when planning for the sustainability of rural mental health programs include:
- Organizational capacity
- Staff and volunteer retention
- Community and program partnerships
- Political environment
- Community engagement
- Mental health stigma
- Evaluating program impact
- Reimbursement for mental health services
- Funding sources and stability
Additional tips and information on sustainability planning can be found in our Rural Community Health Toolkit and Rural Suicide Prevention Toolkit.
Resources to Learn More
Early
Action Planning for Sustainability of School-Based Mental Health Programs
Document
Outlines five key steps for school-based mental health programs when planning for long-term
sustainability.
Organization(s): National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments
Date: 4/2021