Findsupport.gov

Creating a guide to help people navigate issues with mental health, drugs, or alcohol. 

About

Challenge

Empower the 3 out of 10 people in the United States who have  issues with mental health, drugs, or alcohol to get the behavioral health services they need. When members of the general public don’t find the information they need, they rely on sources of questionable credibility, which can increase their feelings of frustration and hopelessness.

Solution

The Digital Service at CMS (DSAC) conducted six rounds of trauma-informed, qualitative research with over 60 participants from across the U.S., with a mix of online and in-person sessions. We interviewed people using Medicaid, who are uninsured, with no/low vision, who have experience with mental health or substance use issues, and/or who identify as LGBTQI+. 

In user research, we found that people lacked a reliable, trustworthy place for information about how to navigate the behavioral health care system. We then created a website to address the needs of people looking for support and treatment. 

Through an iterative process, the team incorporated feedback from user research as well as over 50 subject matter experts across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the White House Domestic Policy Council, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Department of Defense, and non-profit partners to build FindSupport.gov.

FindSupport.gov is a plain language, accessible resources that: 

• Guides people through common questions when they are at the start of their journey.
• Navigates people to find a health care professional or program that meets their needs, particularly around insurance.
• Helps people ask better questions of their health care professionals so that they can feel confident going into treatment.
• Is structured to answer top behavioral health questions of search engines, so that SAMHSA is positioned to provide trusted content to people in the U.S. 

Impact

FindSupport.gov launched in May 2023 during Mental Health Awareness Month. Post-launch feedback indicates that this tool addresses a gap in available resources. 

The site received over 111,000 views in its first four months with over one third of all visitors continuing to another page. One of the core pages of FindSupport.gov has resources for people in crisis. That page is now linked to from every page on SAMHSA.gov and has received over 15,000 views in 4 months.

As of September 2023, the site is also available in Spanish at EncuentraApoyo.gov.