Reports the extent to which survey respondents considered 10 variables as barriers to provision of mental health services to individuals with severe physical disability. Results indicated that these individuals are an underserved group and that there are several major barriers to adequate mental health services for this population, including…

Describes and evaluates a model for agency-based staff development training for a county mental health unit. Concludes it can be a useful way to identify and resolve problems. (Author/MCF)

To understand the role of the social worker in rural mental heatlh services a survey of mental health staff in one rural area was conducted, examining the interrelationships among education, perceived levels of knowledge, and clinical functions. Results indicate bachelors' level social workers serve generalist functions while masters' level social…

Premature application of quantitative indicators formerly used for individual assessment and research to bureaucratic decision making can produce side effects that are dysfunctional in nature. In order to illustrate this phenomenon, the author reviews a general literature and utilizes examples form mental health care. (Author/BW)

This article is concerned with the aged and looks briefly at the history of federal involvement in mental health care, discusses current trends, and examines the future of mental health care in the United States. (CMG)

The known target population of severely mentally disabled in community mental health centers is defined. Criteria include intensive treatment contact and persistent, severe disability, but not diagnosis. Feasible and reliable screening procedures are demonstrated. (Author/BS)

Describes a project with Native American tribes in Louisiana which trains paraprofessionals to provide minimal mental health services for their own people and to gain access to various state agencies. The project was viewed as successful by the trainees and an outside evaluator. (JAC)

Summarizes and discusses the implications of a recent national study of public policies affecting the delivery of mental health services to disturbed children and adolescents. Discusses fiscal, administrative, and service inadequacies as well as innovative programming and policy efforts. Addresses implications for the policymaking and…

In the national discussion of mental health problems, in the literature on the subject, minorities seem to have been almost deliberately omitted. The reasons for such omission of blacks, Spanish-speaking people and Indians from literature and mental health practice are discussed. (Author/RK)

This field work examines womens' participation in 50 alternative self-help support systems covering 10 states and notes that variety is the outstanding characteristic of these services. (Author/AM)

Many children served in afterschool programs would be left alone in dangerous neighborhoods, potentially engaging in risky sexual and criminal behaviors, if not for their participation in structured programming. In fact, research has shown that students who spend the majority of their afterschool hours in unsupervised activities are more likely to…

"Data Trends" reports present summaries of research on mental health services for children and adolescents and their families. The article summarized in this "Data Trends" presents the results of a study of 40,636 children entering the Illinois domestic violence service system over a five-year period. The results of this study…

Recent reports have documented how some parents choose to place their children in the child welfare or juvenile justice systems in order to obtain the mental health services that their children need. Senators Susan Collins and Joseph Lieberman of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs asked the General Accounting Office (GAO) to testify on:…

Challenge initiatives are used by many mental health agencies to facilitate a variety of therapeutic changes within participants. There are several ways to lead these challenge initiatives, including whole training, fixed training, and adaptive training. This paper presents a theoretical basis for considering adaptive training to be the most…

This study uses a historical perspective to examine the interface of the Maryland Juvenile Justice Department and the Mental Hygiene Administration in their efforts to provide services to youth involved with the juvenile justice system who were found to have mental disorders. A time line was constructed documenting developments from the 16th…