Describes evaluations of two programs, one designed to improve mental health outcomes for children and adolescents referred for mental health treatment, and the other designed to provide comprehensive mental health services to children and adolescents. In both studies, the effects of systems of care are primarily limited to system level outcomes,…

Results indicated that participants in an in-hospital work-therapy program, randomly selected patients in Fort Logan Mental Health Center, had longer stays in both intensive treatment and total hospitalization and had more readmissions to Fort Logan than nonparticipants. Reprints available from authors at Fort Logan Mental Health Center, Denver,…

This background paper on children's mental health indicates that less than one-third of the children who have mental health problems receive treatment. Types of mental health problems are discussed, including intellectual, developmental, behavior, emotional, psychophysiological, and adjustment disorders. Enviromental risk factors of poverty and…

A methodology was developed for conducting a benefit-cost analysis of an innovative supported employment intervention for the psychiatrically disabled. Results indicated that the program, which targeted 19 participants, approached cost efficiency of almost .90 of benefits to costs. The value of the methodology for program evaluation is discussed.…

The satisfaction of 469 parents or guardians and 387 of their children who received mental health services at 22 community agencies in Illinois was assessed with standardized measures and procedures. Youths' satisfaction was less than that of their parents. Results are used to formulate a prediction model. (SLD)

The paper presents the conceptual framework and research strategy of the psychiatric utilization review and evaluation (PURE) project at the Connecticut Mental Health Center. Review by structure, by outcome and by process are considered briefly. The Basic Utilization Review Program was developed to provide a more sophisticated and economical…

This special edition contains the background material prepared for the Indian Health Service (IHS) Mental Health Program Review session of January 17-19, 1984 which reviewed the background of the Mental Health Program, assessed the major current management and programmatic issues, and developed recommendations for improving the program. The Review…

Extensive three year study of program involving resident school psychiatrist in extremely mobil setting. Medical help can reduce behavior problems but not academic retardation. Recommendations are offered to increase effectiveness of guidance programs for disadvantaged, culturally different pupils. (CJ)

This paper highlights what the authors believe are the important issues and directions of change in the evaluation of mental health programs. The rationale for such evaluation is twofold. First, it provides a scientifically rigorous method of determining the therapeutic efficacy of the treatment or program, and secondly, these results can exercise…

A quality-assessment study was conducted at a university mental health service to review diagnostic practices, using the third edition of the American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders." Diagnostic practices of the staff and problems with student record keeping are discussed.…

As mental health policies and systems become subject to legislative and public scrutiny, more information is needed to evaluate such programs in the United States and abroad. A cross-national survey of 42 countries and provinces compared mental health policies, mental health services, awareness of these services, evaluation, and financing. Notable…

Seven articles focus on child and adolescent mental health services, highlighting major evaluation issues, considering the contribution of evaluation to improvement of these services, and describing efforts to overcome distinctive problems in these areas. Policymakers and providers of services are optimistic about the use of evaluation of program…

This study, which collected data through interviews and document review, was designed to identify strengths and weaknesses of Minnesota's Comprehensive Children's Mental Health Act (CCMHA) of 1989 and its implementation through December 1990. Three criteria for mental health reform were established for the study, including: care should be…

Malcolm Bliss Mental Health Center, through the Outreach Service, provides psychiatric care for the residents of the Model Cities area of the City of St. Louis. The program was started three years ago, but was actually in full operation for about one and a half years. The services to children are a part of the total program and it is difficult to…

This is an early assessment of the Rural Community Service Coordinator Program (RCSCP), organized by the University of Missouri Extension Service using funds from the federal Food Security Act of 1985. Five full-time coordinators were named by area mental health officials to help rural people cope with despair and emotional disturbances caused by…