The term "level of care" is utilized in mental health care to refer to the different ways in which treatment can be delivered, including qualitative (e.g., modality, approach, setting) and quantitative (e.g., number of sessions, frequency of sessions) variations in services. The concept is often embedded in models of care and measures,…

Despite the high prevalence of and documented impairment associated with pediatric anxiety disorders, less than half of youth access mental health services. This study examined (a) the utilization of eight school services and supports (e.g., seen a school counselor for a mental health reason, placement in a special class for a behavior or…

This study examined outcomes for 320 youth in a Center for Mental Health Services system-of-care demonstration site. Youth received wraparound-only (n = 213), MST-only (n = 54), or wraparound + MST (n = 53). Participants were 12 years old on average and mostly White (90%), and 75% were Medicaid-eligible. Service use and functional and clinical…

This study examines mental health and special education needs and service use at school entry among children involved in maltreatment investigations as infants. Data are from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, a national probability study of 5,501 children investigated for maltreatment. The study sample comprised 959 children…

Many developmental theories that emphasize the importance of developmental task attainment imply that there is a degree of homogeneity in the developmental histories of children with serious disorders. From the perspective of developmental psychopathology, however, children identified as having serious emotional or behavioral disorders are likely…

This article presents challenges facing child mental health services research and the contributions made by the series of papers in this journal issue. The series illustrates two major categories of services research: systems level research and clinical services level research. Methodological issues, particularly for randomized clinical trials in…

A study explored the characteristic similarities and differences of 696 children with serious emotional disturbances being served in community-similar urban systems of care as a function of their referral source. Results found the children did not share uniform sociodemographic and psychosocial profiles as a function of the referral agency.…

A study tested the efficacy of a multicomponent parent training curriculum with caregivers of children receiving mental health services (n=250). The parent group intervention was found to affect significantly two factors critical to increasing caregiver empowerment, knowledge of the mental health services system, and mental health services…

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…

This article reviews recent changes in the mental health system's response to children and adolescents with serious emotional disabilities, emphasizing developments in service delivery and service demonstration research and evaluation efforts. The role of research is examined in terms of its critical importance in improving the system of care for…

A study of 1,015 children with behavior problems investigated the impact of a child's emotional and behavioral problems on the family. Families of youth who first used mental health services when they were ages 10-15 showed significantly higher rates and levels of family impact than families of youth who did not enter services. (Author/CR)

Cluster analysis was conducted to examine clinical characteristics of 1,961 boys and 1,320 girls (ages 10-19) with serious emotional disturbances entering systems of care funded by the Center for Mental Health Services. Combining functional and behavioral characteristics of participants indicate that symptom measures alone could not adequately…

This article presents a description of the Child and Adolescent Services Assessment, a self- and parent-report instrument designed to assess use of mental health services by children, ages 8 to 18. The article provides information on interviewer training, coding of data, and psychometric data on clinical samples, and presents a case study.…

The Family Assessment Planning Team Observation Form was used to assess the family friendliness of the admissions treatment team process at an inpatient child and adolescent psychiatric hospital. The overall rating across 35 case presentations was moderately family friendly and showed marginally higher family friendliness than comparable services…

An intervention designed to address barriers to access to children's mental health services for low-income families was implemented in three Oregon counties. Paraprofessionals provided families with information, emotional support, and tangible assistance. Families in the intervention group (n=96) were significantly more likely to initiate…