Building a Stronger Behavioral Health System for Ohio

Published Date October 29, 2026

News Type College News

Jessica Collura, an Ohio Education Research Center senior research associate, speaks at an event gathering behavioral health providers and Ohio State researchers to explore partnerships for programs in the Ohio Registry for Prevention and Early Intervention Programs.

By Joan Slattery Wall

The Ohio Education Research Center in the John Glenn College of Public Affairs and the College of Social Work at The Ohio State University have partnered with the Ohio Department of Behavioral Health to support the state’s behavioral health professionals in selecting and delivering prevention and early intervention strategies that are backed by research

The resulting online Ohio Registry for Prevention and Early Intervention Programs serves as a centralized, publicly accessible resource to guide state and local decision-makers, providers and communities in selecting programs that best fit community needs and meet evidence standards. Programs and strategies in the registry have been tested through research and shown to produce positive outcomes work.

Get Started With Evidence

Access the Ohio Registry for Prevention and Early Intervention Programs to learn about behavioral health programs that meet clear evidence standards and support prevention and early intervention.

“In addition to the registry being an outlet for informing the field about the evidence that exists around nationally recognized programs, a core part of this work is evaluating home-grown programs in Ohio so they can be elevated and included in the registry,” said Jessica Collura, an Ohio Education Research Center (OERC) senior research associate who is leading the project.

The registry is part of Ohio’s work to build a stronger behavioral health system through better data, stronger accountability and wider access to programs with proven outcomes.

The Ohio Department of Behavioral Health has provided OERC and the College of Social Work with over $1 million to develop and maintain the registry and offer capacity building opportunities to the broader behavioral health field.

“By helping communities identify programs that work, we can support individuals and families earlier — often preventing more serious behavioral health needs down the road,” said Ohio Department of Behavioral Health Director Tia Marcel Moretti.

At its core, the registry is about ensuring Ohioans have access to effective prevention and early intervention services.

Tia Marcel Moretti, Director

Ohio Department of Behavioral Health

“The Ohio Registry provides a consistent, evidence-based way to identify prevention and early intervention programs that are proven to make a difference,” said Moretti. “By highlighting programs with strong outcomes, it strengthens our behavioral health system, supports quality improvement and encourages continued innovation across the state.”

Collura has spent her career studying what it takes for young people to develop positively and avoid problem behaviors.

Ohio State Joins National Public Impact Research Network

Learn about the Glenn College Fellows in the network, which connects public affairs scholars across the country to share tools, research and frameworks for lasting public impact

“Prior to coming to the OERC, I worked with Ohio’s prevention field for seven years, providing training and technical assistance to adult allies who support youth-led prevention programs. I’m also a dedicated public impact research scholar,” said Collura, who was recently named a Research Fellow of the national Public Impact Research (PIR) Network, a collaboration of public research universities working together to help research make a greater difference in people’s lives and communities. “The opportunity to leverage the expertise of Ohio State personnel and build the evidence base for a field I care deeply about is extremely motivating for me.”

“The registry can help prevention and early intervention professionals by making it easier to identify programs that fit the needs of the communities they serve and to make informed decisions about the approaches they use,” said Cindy Clouner, who serves as managing director of the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Misuse Prevention and Recovery, an academic center housed within Ohio State’s College of Social Work. Clouner is co-principal investigator of the project with Collura. “Having a centralized resource also helps connect practice with evidence and supports thoughtful program selection and implementation.”

The registry will help bridge the gap between academic research and community practice, said Assistant Professor Tasha Perdue, an expert in drug, criminal justice and public health policy who serves on the registry project’s advisory committee.

It provides researchers with access to evidence-supported interventions that can inform studies and grant proposals; allows them to explore existing interventions to identify gaps in evidence-based programming for specific populations, communities or service needs; and helps researchers developing interventions engage in a review process to have their work assessed for inclusion in the registry, she said.

“Understanding evidence-based programming is important because it helps us distinguish effective practice from practice that may be ineffective or even harmful,” Perdue said. “From a policy perspective, implementing evidence-based approaches is especially critical for ensuring that limited time and resources are used effectively, which is particularly important for nonprofits and other providers. The use of evidence to guide decision-making and track outcomes can also provide greater transparency and accountability while ensuring that interventions align with established guidelines and best practices.”