Mental health services for minorities have remained biased and deficient. A discussion is included on some racial differences that affect assessment, diagnosis, and intervention of counseling services. A model is proposed that illustrates how cultural information can improve service delivery to African Americans. (JDM)

Interviews were conducted with 60 human-services-agency staff of the Child and Adolescent Service System Program in California and 67 parents of children with serious emotional disturbance regarding changes over the previous four years in their local children's service systems. Results indicate increased interagency collaboration and family…

Describes application of participatory model for creating school-based mental health services in a developing country. Describes process of identifying individual and cultural factors relevant to mental health. Discusses importance of formative research and collaboration with stakeholders to ensure cultural specificity of interventions, and the…

Introduces rationale for integrating Ericksonian therapy, an approach that is congruent with current practice demands of accountability, efficiency, and efficacy, into mental health counseling. Presents framework for including such interventions as multilevel communication, reframing resistance, and use of flow and transformation of perceptions.…

Integrating consumer/survivor/recovering (C/S/R) women in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Women, Co-Occurring Disorders and Violence Study involved both struggles and growth. The C/S/R women and all of our professional allies, both individually and collectively, greatly enhanced the study by overcoming what earlier…

We analyzed the effects of the Colorado Medicaid Capitation Program on the duration and services of over 21,000 outpatient mental health episodes for young children. The study spanned a three year period before and after capitation was implemented, and compared episodes of outpatient care for children from 14 capitated Community Mental Health…

Managed care has profound effects on health and mental health service delivery in the United States. This article describes the knowledge that students need for effective social work practice within a managed care environment and evaluates a course to deliver the content. (Contains 3 tables.)

The Austin Community Collaboration to Enhance Student Success (ACCESS) is a community collaboration between the Austin Independent School District (AISD) and public and nonprofit agencies. By implementing a number of innovative prevention and treatment programs to address the emotional, behavioral, and social needs of students, the ACCESS…

Background: This study examines the use of the Brief Child and Family Phone Interview (BCFPI) to screen for childhood psychiatric disorder based on Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV (DISC-IV) classifications of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), conduct disorder (CD),…

Recent developments, such as passage of the Children Act 2004, subsequent implementation of "Every Child Matters: Change for Children" and increase in funding to councils for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), the Local Government Association (LGA) asked the NFER to examine the funding mechanisms and priorities in…

Family participation in educational planning for children with disabilities is believed to result in plans that are more responsive to the child's needs and that lead to better social, emotional, and educational outcomes. Participation in educational planning is also a fundamental right of parents and a cornerstone of special education…

Objective and Participants: The authors examined the prevalence of mental health needs in international graduate students, their knowledge of mental health services, and their use of on-campus and off-campus counseling services. Methods: All registered graduate students in the Spring 2004 semester received an e-mail invitation to participate in a…

This review examines empirically based studies of school-based mental health interventions. The review identified 64 out of more than 2,000 articles published between 1990 and 2006 that met methodologically rigorous criteria for inclusion. Of these 64 articles, only 24 examined both mental health "and" educational outcomes. The majority of…

This digest briefly summarizes the parallel development of outdoor education and outdoor therapeutic programs for troubled and adjudicated youth, describes the rationale supporting outdoor approaches, and reports related research and evaluation findings. First attempts to use the outdoors as a healing environment were "tent therapy"…

This guide is designed to assist family organizations and advocates of children with mental, emotional, or behavior disorders in asking the right questions at the right time during the development of their state's publicly funded managed behavioral health care plans. The first section provides an overview of managed care, including information on…