Green County Human Services proposed the creation of a mental health navigator
(MHN) position to address the community need for improved connection to mental health
resources. In this report we provide a brief literature review of the public health significance of
this topic generally and in the context of Green County. We discuss relevant community
partnerships and collaborations which will be essential to the success of this program. Next, we
discuss issues of health equity as they pertain to the MHN program, with particular attention to
issues of access around transportation and language. We then explore the evidence base for a
navigator program in the context of mental health, discussing findings from publications as well
as interviews with other mental health navigator programs to provide rationale for this choice
and important contextual features for implementation. We go on to describe an action plan for
thoughtful implementation of this program. We offer a variety of suggestions for evaluation of
this program to determine its success and short, medium, and long-term impacts. Finally, we
include several potential funding opportunities.
Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community partner.
UniverCity Year Contact Info
Gavin Luter
Managing Director
gavin@cows.org
608-261-1141
University Faculty Contact
Barbara Duerst
Population Health Sciences
barbara.duerst@wisc.edu
Local Government / Community Contact