Information Seekers

It is estimated that nearly two million Ohioans will need mental health services during their lives for problems ranging from situational stress to severe and chronic mental illness. The Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH) works to assure access to quality mental health services for Ohioans at all levels of need and life stages. Learn more about our mission, leadership and history.

Guided by the Mental Health Act of 1988, the department funds, reviews and monitors community mental health programs through 50 county-level boards. Access each board’s Community Plan. The state’s responsibility to provide hospital care is defined in Ohio’s constitution. Today, ODMH psychiatric hospitals provide inpatient care at seven sites around the state to approximately 1,000 people on a daily basis. These regional hospitals admit and discharge approximately 6,000 people each year. Learn more at Hospital Services.

The department reviews community mental health agencies for compliance with certification standards and licenses private psychiatric hospital inpatient units and community residential programs. Details about this process can be found on our Rules page.

The Ohio Mental Health Consumer Outcomes System is a standardized way of measuring levels of health and well-being experienced by consumers of Ohio's public mental health system. A set of surveys measures how consumers are faring over time in the domains of symptom distress, functioning, quality of life and safety and health. The system is managed by the ODMH Office of Research and Evaluation (ORE). ORE also identifies questions of importance to the mental health system and funds research projects to address these questions. The latest news from ORE, including grants, activities and publications, is available on the Research page.