UW CoLab for Community & Behavioral Health Policy

CoLab is housed in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine. CoLab engages community expertise and research evidence to spark creative and sustainable change in behavioral health policy and systems, particularly those involving youth and families. We believe communities and systems have deep knowledge and expertise that must be leveraged to promote effective, sustainable, and impactful community programs and strategies. To support this collaborative social innovation framework, we provide development and implementation support for behavioral health programs and systems, evidence translation and synthesis services, and evidence-based policy and programmatic decision support. We work with a variety of community stakeholders, including policymakers, community-based organizations and coalitions, government agencies and administrators, service providers, and healthcare payers. Our funding partners include national and local private foundations as well as federal, state, and county level funding mechanisms. Additionally, CoLab includes the Evidence Based Practice Institute (EBPI), a statewide resource to promote high quality mental health services for children and youth in Washington State.