Charges that the National Agenda for Achieving Better Outcomes for Children and Youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance is so general and all encompassing that it is an inadequate guide for action, and urges a clearer direction. Commentaries are offered on following articles in the issue that address the agenda's seven targets. (Author/CR)

This article examines federal, state, and local initiatives that have influenced child welfare policy and practice on a national scale, with particular emphasis on those policies that offer opportunities for better coordination of services between mental health and child welfare agencies. The special circumstances of child welfare clients are…

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…