With dwindling budgets, a critical focus of all reform efforts is how to underwrite the costs of new mental health intervention approaches. For communities and schools, the range of mental health and psychosocial concerns confronting young people requires a vision that encompasses much more than providing services for those with mental disorders.…

Article offers an example of how mental health services, like the Children First program, collaborate with other services in elementary schools. The goal of the Children First program is to offer counseling that provides in-depth, process-oriented therapy within the grade school setting. (Author)

The increase in the level of severity of student psychological difficulties and the growing need for psychological services in higher education settings has placed considerable pressure on college and university mental health services to respond effectively to this demand. One way several of these services have responded has been to implement…

This paper presents an overview of the evolution of the Yale University Child Study Center's School Development Program (SDP) since its implementation in New Haven, Connecticut in 1968. The needs of inner city school children are discussed, and results of parent and staff surveys are presented. A critique of alternative school improvement…

Community mental health centers have been faced with mandates to introduce new programs or improve old ones often without the necessary information or expertise to implement such changes. Community mental health centers (N=39) were studied to identify the nature and extent of information use and factors related to information use. Experts visited…

This report presents results and recommendations of a two-year study and information-gathering effort by the New Hampshire Task Force on Homelessness, in compliance with the charge of the State legislature. The report is comprised of five sections. Section 1, "Introduction," presents an overview of the Task Force and a report on the…

Community treatment settings offer home economists an opportunity to participate actively in the deinstitutionalization of mental health clients. Behavioral objectives for these clients are examined in the following areas: personal health and safety, community awareness, housing, nutrition, clothing and personal appearance, and financial…

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…

A review of European, Canadian, and United States child-care models is presented as the rationale for the implementation of a training program for child care professionals. The training model is described in terms of: (1) the child mental health specialist's role; (2) curricula and teaching activities; (3) internship and field experiences; (4)…

The Unitas Therapeutic Community is a mental health treatment and prevention program for Hispanic and Black children and teenagers in the South Bronx, New York City. Based on theories of therapeutic community and social psychology, Unitas stresses psychological methodologies that cultivate the healing potential present in all interpersonal…

The second-year implementation of Graduation 2010, a districtwide public-school initiative, had its beginnings in brain-based research and involvement from both school and community. The original plan for the program had eight strands: (1) Arts; (2) Music; (3) Foreign Language; (4) Reading/Language Development; (5) Thinking Skills; (6)…

This theme issue of "Focal Point" offers an overview of a range of children's mental health case management issues. Articles include: "Case Management for Families and Children" (Theresa J. Early); "Expectations of Case Management for Children with Emotional Problems: Parent Perspectives" (Richard Donner and others);…

This is the third volume in a series of monographs from the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Service for Children and Their Families Program, which currently supports 41 comprehensive system of care sites to meet the needs of children with serious emotional disturbances (SED). This volume explores sites that are overcoming obstacles to…

This report is a case study on the process of developing interagency collaboration on behalf of emotionally handicapped children and their families. Based on a process evaluation conducted for the Multnomah (Portland, Oregon) Board of County Commissioners, the case study examines a therapeutic case advocacy project which sought to promote greater…

This monograph was developed to assist states and communities in planning, designing, and implementing culturally competent systems of care for children with serious emotional disturbances. It highlights the culturally competent aspects of 11 programs serving people of color. Each program targets at least one of the four major ethnic minority…