This manuscript provides a detailed examination of comprehensive school-based dialectical behavior therapy (CSB-DBT) as a critical component to the DBT services continuum provided in schools. Because suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents along with increased prevalence of self-harming behavior, schools often find…

Expressing sexuality is part of the human experience, yet sexual health is often ignored in regard to persons with disabilities. Individuals with disabilities are at risk of sexual abuse and exploitation, unwanted pregnancies, and sexually transmitted diseases. Additionally, many adolescents with disabilities lack the knowledge needed to develop a…

A 4-year study of 27 system-of-care sites designed to provides mental health services to children and adolescents, found that despite many changes in each local service system, no site was able to fully implement all 16 key attributes comprising an ideal system-of-care model (including sites with previous system-building experience). (Contains…

A review of several adolescent suicide prevention procedures and empirical evidence regarding their effectiveness finds that, although research is limited, best practice involves a school-based prevention approach that includes a mixture of primary and secondary prevention components. Seven specific recommendations to schools are offered. (DB)

Due to the efforts of mental health consumer and advocacy organizations, there now exists a legislated community-based mental health policy for the treatment of children and adolescents with serious emotional disorders and their families. But the implementation of this policy has not met the intended legislative standards. Accordingly, this…

This article presents a framework to be used in studying public policy in children's mental health. It focuses the stages of policy development and implementation, the relationships among different governmental levels, the relationships among different service sectors, and variables affecting the likelihood a policy will achieve its intended…

This paper reflects on lessons learned from the implementation of KAN Focus, a demonstration project to develop a system of care for children with severe emotional disturbance in rural southeast Kansas. It notes trends toward providing more and younger children with community-based support services which provide family centered services,…