Stanford Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing

CYMHW was stablished in 2016 with the goal of spearheading a new national vision for adolescent and young adult wellness and mental health support. The Center developed the allcove model, a first of its kind integrated care model for the U.S. based on successful international equivalents. It started with a two-person team (Steven Adelsheim, MD and Vicki Harrison, MSW) and has grown to twenty team members today, half of whom make up the Central allcove Team - the backbone support and technical expertise for the emerging network of allcove centers. Local community agencies, designated “lead agencies”, establish and operate their authorized allcove centers with funding from the State Behavioral Health Commission. There are now 3 operating centers in California with 8 more in development.

Issue: How can CYMHW maximize funding from government agencies and general philanthropy for its innovative youth mental health allcove initiative?

Situation

To advance this transformation, stakeholders across public health, mental health, education, and policy domains must recognize allcove as a core component of a modern, equitable youth-serving system of care. Scaling this model requires a coordinated, multi-sector response: policy frameworks that reward prevention, early intervention and integration, evaluation strategies that reflect youth-defined outcomes and most importantly, financing mechanisms that sustain mixed-service delivery. With the necessary political and financial will, allcove offers a roadmap for a national transformation.

CYMHW’s Central allcove Team is currently funded by a grant from the State Behavioral Health Commission that ends June 30, 2027. It is critical to develop funding to support the core team. Australia, with 186 allcove-type centers, has recognized not only the improvements in health outcomes but documented savings in community health expenses. CYMHW needs a robust outreach and marketing plan to advocate support and influence state policy for allcove and the allcove centers. 

A key component will be to achieve community buy in for the marketing plan, ensuring that California helps to advocate to potential donors and government bodies.

Project 

CYMHW is asking for ACT’s help to develop a fund-raising marketing plan with two targets: 

1.  Government agencies
2.  Foundations, corporate donors

In addition to direct grants/donations to CYMHW, it is critical to generate funding for the local allcove centers. The growth of these centers adds visible evidence to the value of allcove as well as funding to the Central allcove Team for its launching support of the new sites. A key deliverable is to provide a marketing communications roadmap to new allcove centers which will increase capacity for the central allcove operations to fund ongoing center development support. Hopefully the ACT team can recommend network wide strategies to facilitate fund raising activities.

The ACT team can assess and use as a foundation: a) CYMHW’s professional presentation of the allcove mission and mental health benefits and b) current marketing efforts to build the allcove brand.