A planning committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will organize a public workshop series to bring together youth, families, clinicians, and industry leaders around digital tools for youth mental health, including artificial intelligence. The workshops will examine how to collaboratively develop quality measurement standards, assess the safety and efficacy of these tools, apply clinical and ethical considerations essential to responsible deployment, create sustainable financing models, and address implementation challenges.
Building on an initial November 2025 workshop focused on youth mental health, these workshops will delve more deeply into defining quality measurement and clinical standards for these digital tools aimed at youth mental health, exploring how digital mental health interventions can be developed through authentic youth and family partnership, and establishing rigorous quality standards and appropriate clinical safeguards.
The first workshop will examine frameworks for youth co-creation of digital tools for youth mental health; quality measurement approaches that balance speed with rigor; methods for incorporating lived experience into design, evaluation, and validation; and the clinical and ethical considerations essential to responsible deployment. Presentations and discussions will consider how to measure quality outcomes across the continuum of digital interventions and the safety and efficacy of these tools, from self-help tools to therapy extenders to virtual care platforms that meet the needs of various interested parties including youth, families, clinicians, child and adolescent mental health specialists, funders, and health systems. The workshop will address the current evidence base for digital mental health interventions in youth populations, the ethical considerations of deploying tools with limited validation data, and the role of clinical oversight in ensuring safety and effectiveness.
The second workshop will focus on scaling what works, examining sustainable financing mechanisms (e.g., reimbursement innovations, and system-level strategies) as well as the mechanics of scaling up effective digital mental health tools. Building on insights from the first workshop regarding quality standards and evidence generation, this workshop will explore state-level policy levers, cross-sector funding approaches that weave together resources, value-based care models, workforce development strategies, and mechanisms for moving beyond the pilot stage to sustainable implementation.
The planning committee will organize both workshops, select and invite speakers and discussants, and moderate the discussions. Each workshop will have a corresponding proceedings-in-brief prepared by a designated rapporteur in accordance with institutional guidelines.