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Welcome to the February 2026 edition of Implementation in Action!
We’re excited to bring you another bimonthly roundup of insights, tools, and opportunities to support your organization in delivering effective mental health services. Each newsletter edition combines the latest research and expert knowledge with practical, real-world strategies that can help leaders drive meaningful practice change.
In this issue, we’re excited to introduce two new CMHIS features designed to support your learning and implementation efforts. The CMHIS Learning Lab is now live on our website, offering self‑paced courses and recorded learning sessions developed by CMHIS and the five bi‑regional Hubs. And beginning in March, we launch Navigating the Now—a series of five nationally focused learning events featuring dynamic speakers who explore timely mental health topics through the lens of implementation science. Read on to learn more about these new opportunities and to register for the upcoming sessions in March.
This month’s Core Topic spotlights Sustainability. We share insights into common challenges that affect long‑term service delivery and outline features that support sustainable, effective practices. If sustaining impact is a priority for your organization, be sure to explore the Program Sustainability Assessment Tool (PSAT), highlighted in this issue—a practical resource to help leaders assess capacity and plan for the future.
As always, we invite you to stay connected with the East Coast Hub to explore new resources and collaborate with others who are putting knowledge into action.
| | Exciting Resources Now Available | | |
CMHIS Learning Lab
We are excited to announce the launch of the CMHIS Learning Lab! Here, you can find self-paced online courses and recorded learning sessions developed by CMHIS and our five bi-regional Hubs. Explore practical content spanning preparation, implementation, and long‑term sustainability of effective mental health services—all searchable by topic, audience, and experience level. The Learning Lab library will be updated regularly, and you can already access recordings on core topics such as Community Engagement, Continuous Quality Improvement, Implementation Strategies for Evidence-Based Practices, Measurement‑Based Care and more. We invite you to visit the CMHIS Learning Lab and explore everything it has to offer.
Navigating the Now
CMHIS is thrilled to launch Navigating the Now! This set of five thoughtfully planned, national learning events features dynamic speakers who bring timely, relevant mental health topics to life through the lens of implementation science. Each event explores real-world pain points and current themes. This special series starts in March with two exciting learning opportunities.
- Understanding and Assessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Community Mental Health
Join the East Coast Hub for a 3-part series that explores how emerging Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, from rule-based chatbots to advanced large language models and multimodal systems, are reshaping the landscape of mental health care. It reviews the opportunities and limitations of AI tools as they move toward community and clinical settings. We will examine key issues, including safety, accuracy, hallucinations, regulatory considerations, and real-world performance, using current research findings and case examples. The series provides a practical framework for clinicians to appraise AI systems critically, understand their underlying mechanisms, and consider the risks/benefits of integrating them into care. Join the East Coast Hub for this 3-part series starting on March 4, 2026 | 11 a.m.-noon CT, noon-1 p.m. ET.
Learn more and Register!
- Stories That Connect Us: The Impact of Digital Storytelling in Mental Health
Join the Southwestern Plains Hub for a session that explores the power of digital storytelling in mental health and why it has become such an effective tool. Participants will examine the art and science of storytelling across different mediums and goals – from building community awareness and reducing stigma to supporting workforce education or policy change. Through short films and case examples, we’ll look at creative mental health stories and the design choices, and outcomes behind them. The session invites participants to think creatively and expansively about how storytelling could show up in their own work, even in non-traditional or resource-limited ways. Join the Southwestern Plains Hub on March 11, 2026 | 1-2:30 p.m. CT, 2-3:30 p.m. ET.
Learn more and Register!
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Sustainability - Delivering an Effective Practice Over Time
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Sustaining service delivery involves developing strategies to continue providing a mental health service or program over time while achieving consistent, positive patient outcomes for all. Sustaining effective programs requires careful planning and continued attention to funding, partnerships, and resources.
Why It Matters:
Sustaining mental health programs is about more than keeping services operational—it’s about ensuring they continue to deliver value, remain responsive to community needs, and stay effective as funding, systems, and priorities change over time. While implementation focuses on launching and refining programs, sustainment asks a harder but essential question: Can our program last and continue to work in this setting?
How It Works:
A program’s ability to last over time is shaped by several factors. Which of these are part of your program’s design?
- Reliable and Diversified Funding - Blending and braiding funding helps protect services from abrupt funding losses and creates greater financial stability.
- Organizational and Leadership Support - Programs are more likely to endure when leaders prioritize sustainment, allocate resources, and reinforce mental health services as a core function.
- Strong Infrastructure - Sustainable programs are supported by infrastructure that enables day to day operations. This could include a trained workforce, supervision, technology, and physical space.
- Partnerships and Collaboration - Partnerships help extend reach, share responsibility, and align services across systems working towards a shared goal.
- Ongoing Evaluation and Data Use - Sustainment is a continuous process. Using data to monitor outcomes, guide quality improvement, and demonstrate impact helps programs adapt over time and maintain stakeholder support.
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Alignment with Community Needs - Sustainable programs continue to reflect community priorities and evolving needs. Regular reassessment ensures services remain relevant, effective, and valued by those they serve.
Why do mental health programs struggle to sustain themselves over time?
One of the biggest challenges is that many programs are launched with short term funding and limited attention to what happens when that funding ends. Sustainability often depends on whether a program is embedded within systems that already have ongoing financing, workforce capacity, and policy support—not just whether it demonstrates positive outcomes in the short term. Without intentional sustainment planning, programs frequently lose momentum once that initial funding or external support ends.
What helps make a mental health program sustainable?
Sustainable programs are designed as part of a system, not as stand alone initiatives. When mental health services are embedded within established systems they are more likely to withstand leadership transitions, funding shifts, and policy changes. Key factors that support sustainability include flexibility, cross system collaboration, organizational readiness, and strong leadership commitment. Programs are most durable when they are viewed as a core function of routine service delivery.
What should mental health leaders keep front and center when building programs that last?
Sustainability should not be an afterthought—it must be planned from day one. That means aligning evidence-based practices with financing, workforce development, and leadership support that can sustain services over time. Sustainment is a continuous process. Ongoing evaluation, the use of data to improve services, and regular reassessment of community needs are essential to ensuring programs remain effective and sustainable. To meet current mental health needs—and prepare for future challenges—we must move beyond short term solutions and invest in systems that can adapt and endure.
Key Takeaways: Building Mental Health Programs That Last
• Plan for sustainability from the start. Programs are most durable when financing, workforce, leadership, and infrastructure needs are addressed early—not after funding ends.
• Diversified financing is critical. Sustainable programs rely on stable, blended funding streams rather than a single source.
• Leadership and partnerships sustain momentum. Strong organizational support and cross system collaboration help programs become routine practice rather than temporary projects.
• Sustainment is an ongoing process. Continuous data use, quality improvement, and responsiveness to community needs are essential for a lasting impact.
| | Practical Sustainability Tools & Resources | | |
Program Sustainability Assessment Tool - This tool is used to rate the sustainability capacity of a program to help plan for the program’s future. It allows an individual to: Understand the factors that influence their program’s capacity for sustainability; assess their program’s capacity for sustainability; review results from their program’s assessment as a Sustainability report; and develop an Action Plan to increase the likelihood of sustainability. (Authors: Center for Public Health Systems Science (CPHSS)).
Measurement of Sustainment of Prevention Programs and Initiatives: The Sustainment Measurement System Scale (SMSS) - This measure demonstrates potential in identifying predictors of program sustainment and as a tool for enhancing the likelihood of successful sustainment through ongoing evaluation and feedback. (Authors: Palinkas, L. A., Chou, C. P., Spear, S. E., Mendon, S. J., Villamar, J., & Brown, C. H.).
Sustaining School Mental Health in North Carolina: A Success Story in Systems and Partnership - This CMHIS article profiles a North Carolina grantee who had success in sustaining an effective mental health program, practice, or project after the initial grant ended. Read on to get inspired by their real-world success and discover strategies you can apply to your own program. (Authors: Center for Mental Health Implementation Support (CMHIS)).
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Stay Connected
Coming in April 2026: We’ll dive into what it takes to communicate about and market mental health programs. Communication and social marketing solutions can help organizations reach their key audiences, promote services, and influence positive behavioral change. Visit our website to learn more about Marketing Programs & Services! If you have questions, please reach out - send us an email, or follow us on LinkedIn.
Share Your Thoughts
We’d love to hear from you! Let us know what topics you’d like to see in future issues or share your feedback to help us improve. Contact us with your thoughts, stories, or feedback.
Request Support
As part of the Center for Mental Health Implementation Support (CMHIS), the East Coast Hub offers assistance to grantees funded by SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services and mental health service providers in HHS Regions 3 and 4 (Alabama, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia). We can help you strengthen your mental health programs through community engagement, implementation planning, data use, outcome evaluation, and more. Please review our guidelines and submit a request.
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