This paper describes the Tennessee Children's Plan, a program phased in between 1991 and 1993 that implemented a coordinated service system for children, youth, and families. A study involving children and youth (birth through 21 years) who were in the custody of the State of Tennessee investigated the effectiveness of coordinated service systems…

Drawing on lessons from six case studies, this policy paper highlights the most innovative approaches states and communities are currently using to finance preventive and early intervention services as well as more traditional treatment services for young children's mental health. The case studies are based on interviews with policy and program…

A study investigated the outcomes of the Acute Children's Extended Services (ACES) program, a Salt Lake City, Utah, program designed to help children with emotional and behavioral disabilities reintegrate into the community from inpatient or residential care. The study examined outcomes of the ACES program within four domains: access, clinical…

Five out of every 100 children develop serious emotional disturbances. Another 20 to 25 out of every 100 develop less severe emotional problems that can be resolved with proper care. It is this group for whom appropriate intervention can make a difference. This booklet describes the Great Smoky Mountains Study, a longitudinal, population-based…

Most school districts employ student support or "pupil services professionals," such as school psychologists, counselors, and social workers. These personnel perform services connected with mental health and psychosocial problems. The format usually is a combination of centrally based and school-based services. Amelioration of the full continuum…

Clinicans promoted to middle management positions have a good deal of difficulty coping with the use of power and with a variety of other unfamiliar and uncomfortable dilemmas. Among the most difficult of these is their responsibility for supervising the work of the professional staff. (Author)

To positively affect psychiatrically disabled clients, rehabilitation practitioners require the ability to diagnose and increase client skills, to maintain one's personal effectiveness, and to coordinate one's efforts with the other persons involved in the comprehensive rehabilitation effort. Training programs need to be comprehensive and…

Various concepts of culture related to ethnicity, language use, values, material goods, and rituals have influenced development of culturally competent mental health programs. Describes how understanding of culture's complexity influences assessment of Hispanic clients at three inpatient bilingual/bicultural psychiatric programs in New York City.…

A model of evaluation is presented that allows direct service agencies in mental health and substance abuse areas to evaluate their programs cost effectively and appropriately. The approach emphasizes research partnerships as potentially valuable ways for self-help group members to explore their own practices through communication and critical…

Describes a nationally recognized service program that delivers integrated mental health and substance abuse services to children and youth with a wide range of problems. The model incorporates elements of primary and secondary prevention and community outreach into service delivery. Program components are discussed in detail. (RJM)

Increasing deinstitutionalization of the mentally disabled has instigated research on neighborhood receptivity to this group. Investigates the contribution of neighborhood types and individual characteristics in predicting responses of residents in a midwestern Canadian city. Supporters of neighborhood community mental health facilities outnumber…

The effectiveness of a teacher-implemented psychological health program designed to improve students' test coping skills in the classroom was tested using 497 Israeli fifth and sixth graders. The cognitive training program significantly improved performance on three cognitive measures, although it negligibly affected test anxiety scores. (SLD)

A major finding from interviews with 25 New York City (New York) poverty-area urban elementary school principals is that they cannot adequately educate children without services to deal with the emotional distress experienced by many students. Teachers need the help and support of trained professionals. (SLD)

Follow-up of 972 children for 6 months after sexual victimization found that those children most likely to enter therapy were Caucasian, between the ages of 7 and 13, had cases in which the Department of Children's Services of Los Angeles or law enforcement were involved, were placed outside the home, and experienced abuse of greater frequency.…

Analysis of an instrument for assessing workers' beliefs about parents of children receiving mental health-related services identified five factors: parent blame, giving information, parent validation, use of psychotropic medications, and parent instruction. Differences in beliefs were revealed among workers who endorsed psychodynamic, family…