Characteristics of mandates for evidence-based behavioral health interventions in 8 selected US states

Purpose: Demand for the use of evidence-based interventions (EBI) to address behavioral health issues remains high in the United States. States are primarily tasked with determining what constitutes EBIs on a state-by-state basis. This results in variations in what constitutes an EBI across states. The study's purpose is to determine the different ways in which state mandates for EBIs operationalize the concept of EBI, including the different levels of evidence that are required. The EBI mandates of 8 states were purposively selected for this study based on their Pew Charitable Trusts rating of EBI implementation. Results: 64 % of EBI operationalizations included a quality of evidence requirement and 74 % included an impact reporting requirement. 52 % included both types of requirements, 35 % featured one type of requirement or the other, and 14 % included neither type of requirement. There was variation in the content of those requirements depending on the implied tier of evidence and the state's PMC rating category. Conclusions: States need consistent operationalizations of what constitutes an EBI if they are to support the implementation of effective programming for behavioral health care. Additionally, states should produce more rigorous research-based operationalizations of what constitutes an EBI.