A long-established agency for troubled children was following a philosophy based on behavioral control and treatment of pathology. As staff examined their beliefs about the process of change, the climate evolved from enforcing behavior control to empowering youth to develop positive strengths. A charter school was created and new behavior…

A 1993-94 update on special education program activities and funding in Idaho is presented. After an overview of accomplishments in special education as a whole during 1993-94, activities supporting gifted and talented programs are identified, including a state guide for gifted education, regional planning meetings, curriculum workshops, and…

This final report, in the form of an executive summary presents the findings of the Families in Action project, a 5-year effort to examine the experiences of parents and other members of families of children with emotional disorders as members of policy-related bodies. The project also addressed the development of strategies to enhance parent…

This newsletter theme issue discusses collaboration between professionals and families whose children have emotional disorders. Background information is provided on the concept of empowerment and the development of collaboration as a principle for delivering services. Factors that lead to empowerment and barriers experienced by families are…

This monograph provides a structured planning process and information on best educational practices for serving students with emotional/behavior disorders (E/BD) placed in general education classrooms. After an introductory chapter, the guide: (1) addresses the controversy concerning inclusion for students with emotional/behavioral disorders; (2)…

Over the last 20 years, policy changes have reduced the use of highly restrictive services for children with severe disabilities. This study explores several issues associated with these changes. It asked whether students referred to a Behavioral Skills Program (BSP) exhibit a level of behavioral and emotional problems that is higher than the…

This report contains an overview of the General Psychoeducational Program Network and four research papers on the education of students with Serious Emotional Disturbances (SED). The first paper, "Academic Progress of SED students Served in the Georgia Psychoeducational Program Network" (Thomas H. Cope), reports on a study which found…

Three studies of five seventh-grade students (ages 12-14) with emotional disturbances were conducted to determine whether a stimulus class would emerge as a result of one conditional discrimination training using direct instruction (implemented with a constant time delay) augmented with instructive feedback. The students were taught to identify…

Designed for parents of children with mental, emotional, or behavior disorders, this booklet provides information on accessing mental health services through health maintenance organizations. The first part of the guide provides information on how managed care can improve children's access to behavioral health services through expanded service…

This practicum was designed to evaluate the needs of clinicians in identifying substance abuse issues in severely emotionally disturbed children and adolescents, and its dynamics in their family histories. This writer designed and administered pre and post questionnaires to both professional and paraprofessional staff members to evaluate attitude…

This document presents the state of Maine's rules of general applicability and specific rights of children who are receiving services from the Maine Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. The first section presents general rules concerning: statement of intent, definitions, basic rights, least restrictive appropriate treatment,…

Michigan was the first state to apply the permanency planning philosophy to children in the mental health system who have developmental disabilities or severe emotional disorders. Permanency planning involves identifying strategies for supporting children within permanent family relationships. This report outlines how the permanency planning…

This bulletin focuses on family participation in mental health policymaking and highlights state efforts to increase family involvement. Articles include: (1) "Promoting Family Member Involvement in Children's Mental Health Policy Making Bodies," which describes how different states are promoting family member involvement in various statutory and…

This report discusses the discipline of students with disabilities in schools, and new provisions in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that allow school personnel to order a change in a student's placement to an interim alternative educational setting (IAES) under certain circumstances. The first section provides a brief…

This collection of papers presented at a 1996 conference on children's mental health focuses on financing strategies of systems of care. Individual papers have the following titles and authors: (1) "Arizona's Implementation of Managed Care in the Public System: A State's Perspective" (Stephen Perkins and Valinda Mores); (2) "The…