Strategies for Building an Operational Infrastructure

Operational infrastructure refers to the administrative functions and foundation that support innovation and continuous quality improvement in children’s mental health. 
Building an operational infrastructure involves:

• Aiming at transformation--to be proactive in raising the standard of care from “treatment as usual” to the highest quality of care.
• Creative financing strategies--to encourage sustainability of evidence-based practices, and to allow more youth and families access to effective care.
• Comprehensive training and technical assistance--to reinforce implementation efforts and increase the likelihood of better outcomes.
• Continuous quality improvement processes that utilize data for:
• identifying the most pressing needs of children and families
• selecting evidence-based and promising practices to address such needs
• monitoring fidelity to ensure that evidence-based practices are being implemented as intended
• monitoring quality of care provided and outcomes
• indicating areas where improvement is needed

The following sections point to examples of how leadership can set the stage for change, and provide information and resources related to financing, training, and using data for quality improvement.