Conversations with our community: Lessons learned from a community-based behavioral healthcare provider's community input process

The implementation of a planned Community Input Process (CIP) at a large, community-based, behavioral health services organization serving an urban, Mid-Atlantic city informed organizational strategic planning processes and ensured the delivery of services that best address and are informed by a comprehensive understanding of community needs.  This CIP brought together consumers, community members, other agency stakeholders, and staff to provide feedback on services provided by the organization as well as the organization’s ability to meet current and anticipated community behavioral health needs.  Feedback was solicited through structured focus groups, online surveys, and an open-invitation community forum.  Analysis of results focused on organizational strengths, areas for improvement, and barriers to service access.  A preliminary analysis of 15 focus groups with a total of 110 participants revealed overall satisfaction with organizational responsiveness and common suggestions for agency improvement. Participants shared common experiences related to accessibility of services throughout the organization, and noted similar gaps in service provision.  Preliminary results from 492 surveys similarly reflected high levels of satisfaction with services and barriers to accessing services. By facilitating a community conversation, it is possible to open the door to enhanced understanding and awareness of the community’s needs and an organizations role within their community.  Through a discussion of the implementation and results of this CIP, the authors provide a replicable model through which organizational connections with consumers and the larger community can be created or improved to best meet community need and identify how results continually inform strategic planning processes.