Protocol for a quasi-experimental, 950 county study examining implementation outcomes and mechanisms of Stepping Up, a national policy effort to improve mental health and substance use services for justice-involved individuals.

There are few rigorous, prospective studies examining implementation mechanisms and their relationship with behavioral health implementation outcomes in justice and associated community behavioral health settings. There is also limited understanding of implementation mechanisms that occur across systems with multiple goals. This study will describe implementation outcomes of Stepping Up and will elucidate target mechanisms that are effective in multi-goal, multi-agency systems.