Federal disaster mental health response and compliance with best practices.

This study investigated the comprehensiveness of disaster mental health state plans and their adherence to published best practices in three states that experienced post-9/11 federally-declared disasters. There were 59 disaster mental health best practices used in this study to assess each state disaster mental plan's compliance with best practices; the states demonstrated a range of adherence to the best practices. This research may serve as a guide for those developing disaster mental health plans and encourage further considerations in disaster mental health response.