Jonathan Brown

Jonathan Brown is a health services researcher whose work focuses on improving the quality and outcomes of services for adults and children with mental health and substance use disorders. Much of his work has evaluated the implementation and outcomes of programs designed to integrate and coordinate care.

Brown is currently evaluating the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Demonstration and provides evaluation support for state Medicaid Section 1115 Demonstrations focused on serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, and substance use disorders. He previously directed a mixed-methods evaluation of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Primary and Behavioral Health Care Integration Program and has helped states identify policy and financing options to support a full continuum of care. His past work also involved developing and evaluating communications skills trainings for primary care providers to improve early identification and engagement of children, adolescents, and their families in mental health care. As a co-investigator of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Mental Health Services in Pediatric Primary Care, he piloted mental health skills training interventions for medical assistants working in pediatric primary care with support from the National Institute of Mental Health, and led efforts to evaluate Maryland’s Behavioral Health Integration in Pediatric Primary Care initiative.

Brown has worked with state agencies, managed care organizations, hospitals, consumer groups, and professional associations to develop, validate, and implement behavioral health quality measures. Many of these measures have been endorsed by the National Quality Forum and adopted into national reporting programs. He has served on expert panels for the Institute of Medicine, National Quality Forum, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; he most recently served on the National Quality Partners Action Team for Serious Mental Illness and the National Quality Forum Panel on Same Day Access to Mental Health Care for Veterans.

His work has been published in issue briefs and peer-reviewed journals, including Pediatrics, Journal of General Internal Medicine, Health Affairs, Psychiatric Services, and Administration and Policy in Mental Health. He holds a Ph.D. in health services research and an M.H.S. in mental health from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.