Effective operation of rehabilitation programs for those with mental disorders in Latin America is not yet a reality. Meager resources and facilities can only accommodate a small proportion and only treat but not be concerned with prevention or rehabilitation. (Editor/SB)

Through the Student Volunteer Program at Vermont College, students volunteer to become "big sisters" to children in the community. The latter are selected on the basis of their need for positive identification and friendship with adults. (BB)

Children's mental health needs must be addressed for them to perform well in school. Several approaches are being used to give schools better mental health access. Model problems tend to offer a comprehensive continuum of services, coordinate the system for easy accessibility, and involve families in the teaching process. The Child Study Center's…

Reviews the relationship between occupational therapy and client involvement, examines the rationale for involving clients in program evaluation and research, and discusses how clients are involved in evaluation and research in today's mental health care setting. (Author)

In 2000, more than 60 non-profit agencies, health care providers, government officials, and community advocates in Tarrant County, Texas, came together to work for systemic change in the mental health care system. The coalition, known as the Mental Health Connection, began working toward a "No Wrong Door" approach to mental health…

Context/Purpose: To examine a low-income sample of women in the rural Midwest (N = 1,086) who were screened for perinatal depression through the outreach and education activities within a Healthy Start Initiative project. Specifically, we describe the frequency and severity of depressive symptoms, explore social and demographic correlates of…

This study investigated a new 2-factor construct, termed "cultural congruence", which is related to cultural competence in the delivery of mental health services to ethnic minority clients. Cultural congruence was defined as the distance between the cultural competence characteristics of the health care organization and the clients' perception of…

Thirty-seven of 43 (86%) agencies operating child welfare residential treatment centers in New York State responded to a survey about the provision of mental health services. Questions were asked about provision of services, satisfaction with services, and suggestions for improvement in five domains: therapeutic milieu, individual therapy, group…

We examined factors related to treatment responders (n = 35) and nonresponders (n = 16) in a group of 51 children admitted to the Intensive Mental Health Program (IMHP). Children's response to treatment was coded based on their functioning at intake and discharge using total CAFAS scores. Demographic variables, length of treatment, number of…

Diffusion theory posits that information is disseminated throughout a social network by the persuasion of key opinion leaders (KOLs). This study examined the relative and combined influence of peer-identified KOL teachers (n = 12) and mental health providers (n = 21) on classroom teachers' (n = 61) self-reported use of commonly recommended…

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine connections between university students' mental health and their knowledge and use of campus mental health services. Participants and Methods: In March 2001, a sample of undergraduate students (N = 266) completed a Web-based questionnaire, providing information related to their mental health,…

The study discusses the differences in the prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among Puerto Rican children and the influence of risk factors on mental health services, medication and psychostimulant use among them in two different contexts. The conclusion states that prevalence was similar regardless of context and…

A fundamental concern with competitive health insurance markets is that they will not supply efficient levels of coverage for treatment of costly, chronic, and predictable illnesses, such as mental illness. Since the inception of employer-based health insurance, coverage for mental health services has been offered on a more limited basis than…

To be able to offer children with developmental disorders adequate help, professionals working in special needs education must use a screening device to assess the specific psychiatric difficulties of the children. In this paper the psychometric properties of an easy-to-use parental rating scale to screen symptoms of major psychiatric disorders…