The Arizona Chronic Disease Strategic Plan is a 3-year plan designed to address chronic disease prevention and control. The plan was developed by Arizona stakeholders, both those who currently are and are not engaged in chronic disease prevention and control. To ensure the plan is not “top down” and driven by priorities identified by the state health department, community stakeholders were engaged in developing this strategic plan from the start. This plan was created through a community process and represents voices from across the state.

This plan outlines a comprehensive approach to reducing the burden of cardiovascular disease through the most efficient, cost-effective, and evidence-based strategies available. This plan supports current efforts in primary prevention and proposes new primary prevention activities that are specific to cardiovascular disease. The majority of the plan addresses secondary prevention efforts and controlling risk factors in those who already have cardiovascular disease.

This plan is intended to provide state level agencies, communities, health care providers, funding agencies, organizations, policy and decision makers, and consumers' direction and support in creating a system of care that proactively addresses the prevention, early detection, and treatment of chronic disease in Arizona. It is hoped the framework presented will encourage the development of partnerships to promote a comprehensive and integrated approach to reducing mortality and morbidity due to chronic disease.

This special topic report examines the prevalence and characteristics of co-occurring substance abuse and mental health problems among juvenile detainees in Maricopa County. The findings come from the Co-occurring Disorder Addendum used during 2007. The findings reveal that almost 30 percent of juvenile detainees were at risk for a co-occurring disorder, and face significantly greater difficulties across a number of critical factors, including incarceration, homelessness, and victimization.

This special topic report examines the prevalence and characteristics of co-occurring substance abuse and mental health problems among adult arrestees in Maricopa County. The findings suggest that more than 28 percent of adult arrestees in Maricopa County are at risk for a co-occurring disorder, and they face significantly greater difficulties across a number of critical factors, including incarceration, homelessness, and victimization. Understanding the prevalence and particular characteristics of the dual-diagnosed arrestee population in Maricopa County is an important part of assessing demands on behavioral health and substance use treatment resources. Additionally, examining some of the current defining characteristics of this population relative to arrestees not dually diagnosed can serve as an indicator of future demand.

Arizona’s public behavioral health care system, which serves some 150,000 mentally ill and vulnerable state residents, is wrestling with a number of urgent challenges. In addition to budget cuts resulting from the current economic crisis, and the demands of a 28-year-old class-action lawsuit, the system has been repeatedly criticized in several areas, including for inadequate staff, data, housing support, and crisis services. On July 22, a panel of professionals who play key roles in the system discussed these and other issues before some 300 behavioral health providers, supervisors, and policymakers at the annual Summer Institute hosted by Arizona State University’s Center for Applied Behavioral Health Policy. This paper provides an abbreviated report of that discussion, which was partially designed and moderated by ASU’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy.

Severe and widespread budget cuts in behavioral health and substance abuse services for lower-income Arizonans who don’t qualify for AHCCCS have already taken effect across the state. Even before these cuts were implemented, it was clear that the publicly-supported behavioral health system in our state was not adequately serving many Arizonans who needed mental health or substance use disorder treatment. This paper represents an effort by Arizona State University’s Centers for Applied Behavioral Health Policy and the Morrison Institute for Public Policy to promote and enrich Arizona’s public dialogue about these problems and potential solutions.