Implications of a children's mental health managed care demonstration evaluation.

Abstract

This article summarizes the major findings of the Fort Bragg Evaluation and considers alternative explanations for the results. The evaluation found that the continuum of care provided a high-quality system of care but was more expensive and produced no better clinical outcomes than traditional services. The possibility of implementation failure at both the systems and services levels is considered and rejected as an explanation for the results. Support for the validity of the measurement, design, and the analysis is also presented. The implications for research and policy are described.