In the current climate of increasing fiscal and clinical accountability, information is required about overall program effectiveness using clinical data. These requests present a challenge for programs utilizing single-subject data due to the use of highly individualized behavior plans and behavioral monitoring. Subsequently, the diversity of the…

We report on a randomized controlled trial of Targeted Mental Health in Schools (TaMHS), which is a nationally mandated school-based mental health program in England. TaMHS aimed to improve mental health for students with, or at risk of, behavioral and emotional difficulties by providing evidence-informed interventions relating to closer working…

The system of care approach as a strategy for serving children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance (SED) is by any measure a success with one exception: there is controversy regarding the scientific evidence documenting that the services provided through systems of care improve the symptomatic and functional outcomes of the youth…

The Intensive Mental Health Program meets the needs for services in school systems for children with serious emotional disturbances and for training graduate students in clinical applications with a difficult-to-serve population. We address the range of challenges and rewards experienced in the development of the comprehensive intervention…

Integrating infant mental health services into early education programs leads to better child outcomes and stronger parent-child relationships--the big question is how to do it appropriately and effectively. Clear answers are in this accessible textbook, created to prepare early childhood professionals and programs to weave best practices in…

We describe changes in adaptive functioning for children enrolled in the Intensive Mental Health Program (IMHP), an innovative model for serving children with the most severe forms of SED. Most children show marked improvements in multiple indicators of role performance and symptomatology. Although a high risk, high need group, most children…

Evaluating school-based mental health services for children and youth with emotional disturbance (ED) has been a challenge for researchers. One particular challenge is the study design of using the student as the statistical unit of analysis, which in certain cases may lead to a violation of the "independence of error" assumption.…

This parameter presents overarching principles and practices for child and adolescent mental health care in community systems of care. Community systems of care are defined broadly as comprising the wide array of child-serving agencies, programs, and practitioners (both public and private), in addition to natural community supports such as…

A survey of current trends was conducted in more than 40 countries. Focus was on the organization of services and their relevance for evolving practices in the United States. Apparent was a willingness to experiment with administrative and therapeutic roles. Ideological differences are important determinants of the organization, range, and quality…

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…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined the extent to which children's mental health agencies can meet the information needs they consider to be most important and also comply with recommended standards of the Mental Health Statistics Improvement Projects (MHSIP). Three children's data sets representing three different agency…

The evaluation plan for New York State's Children and Youth Intensive Case Management (CYICM) Program is described, which was introduced in July 1988. The CYICM Program is a statewide intervention focusing on keeping children with serious emotional disturbances in the least restrictive environment appropriate to their needs. It is a…

A multidisciplinary team model used at a child and adolescent mental health service in Norfolk (England) was evaluated. Team members represented three different professional backgrounds: practitioners, managers, and planners. Formative evaluation results suggest that it is possible to establish interprofessional teams able to integrate with…

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.…