Unfortunately, racial disparities are well documented in the delivery of behavioral health services. This study examines the effects of implementing a decision support process, integrating clinical information into the administration of mental health services, on racial disparities in psychiatric hospital admissions for children in state custody.…

This study explored clinical and nonclinical predictors of inpatient hospital admission decisions across a sample of children in foster care over 4 years (N = 13,245). Forty-eight percent of participants were female and the mean age was 13.4 (SD = 3.5 years). Optimal data analysis (Yarnold & Soltysik, 2005) was used to construct a nonlinear…

This article discusses the response of Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (IDCFS) to the perceived problems with long-term residential treatment and psychiatric hospitalization. The IDCFS implemented a process of residential placement review and a system of residential facility gatekeepers to ensure more appropriate placement and…

Objective: To predict psychiatric hospital length of stay (LOS) for a sample of Illinois Department of Children and Family Services wards across 4 fiscal years. Method: A prospective design was implemented using the Children's Severity of Psychiatric Illness scale, a reliable and valid measure of psychiatric severity, risk factors, youth…

At least three circumstances have converged to focus attention on the outcomes associated with residential treatment. First, the reduction in lengths of stay in the psychiatric hospital has resulted in residential treatment becoming the most expensive service on a per episode basis. Second, the increasing emphasis on the identification and use of…