#65

Reducing Dropout from Therapy in a Community Mental Health Center
(December 2002)

Reasons for withdrawal from therapy are of concern to families and providers of treatment for children with mental health problems. This article describes an evaluation of an intervention designed to increase the accuracy of caregivers' expectations of their children's therapy in a community mental health setting. Outcomes are discussed in relation to therapy attendance.

#64

Impact of Poverty on Family Quality of Life
(December 2002)

Poverty is a pervasive influence in families, making achievement in all aspects of life more difficult when basic needs are not met. The authors of this article review the literature and highlight the impact of poverty in five domains: health, productivity, physical environment, emotional well-being, and family interaction.

#63

Implementing IDEA '97 Disciplinary Provisions
(November 2002)

Adhering to the disciplinary requirements of the 1997 amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for students with disabilities while ensuring that they receive an equal opportunity to education is a challenge for schools. This article reports on a survey of states' policies and practices regarding functional behavioral assesment and disciplinary provisions for students with disabilities.

#62

Psychiatric Disorders & Service Use among White & African American Rural Youth
(November 2002)

This article reports on an analysis of disparities in the utilization of mental health services by African American and white youth living in rural areas. Overall rates of service use were far below prevalence rates for psychiatric disorder for all youth, and African American youth were significantly less likely than white youth to have received specialty mental health services.

#61

The Paradigm Shift from Provider-Driven to Family-Driven Systems of Care
(October 2002)

The paradigm shift in service delivery systems for children and youth with emotional disturbance to make families full collaborative partners in the care of their children is described in this article. Examples of systems where there are true partnerships with families are featured in the article.

#60

Diagnosis & Treatment of ADHD in Preschool Aged Children: Implications for Systems of Care
(October 2002)

This article provides a discussion and review of the literature on diagnostic and treatment issues related to ADHD in preschool children and offers suggestions for increased utilization of systems of care for treating young children with ADHD.

#59

Factors Associated with Response Inconsistency in Structured Diagnostic Interviews
(September 2002)

Attenuation is a phenomenon in which research participants report fewer symptoms when they are re-tested. This has serious implications for mental health research. These two research projects describe factors of both the interview design and participants that are associated with attenuation.

#58

Integration of Managed Care with System of Care Philosophies
(September 2002)

This article presents the results of a qualitative, multi-site case study of the impact of managed care on federally funded Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) system of care communities.

#57

Using the Parents as Partners Principle with SED Children
(August 2002)

Therapists are traditionally seen as the experts and parents are commonly viewed as recipients of treatment or held responsible for their child's problems. According to the Parents as Partners Principle parents are the authority on their child's condition. This Data Trends will address the dimensions of the principle, potential barriers to the principle's use, and the clinician-parent alliance.

#56

Adherence to System of Care Philosophy: Federally Funded & Matched Comparison Sites
(August 2002)

The purpose of this study was to assess the degree to which federally funded system of care (SOC) sites have actualized system of care philosophies and to compare adherence to system of care values between three federally funded sites and three matched comparison sites that had not received federal system of care funding.

#55

Mental Health Screening Instruments for use in Juvenile Justice
(July 2002)

Mental health assessment of youth involved with the juvenile justice system has often been overlooked or, when done, has been conducted with mental health screening instruments that are not designed to be used in detention situations. Given the high need for mental health treatment among youth involved with juvenile justice this Data Trends discusses two instruments designed specifically for use in detention facilities. The Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument (MAYSI-2) and the Mental Health Juvenile Detention Admission Tool (MH-JDAT).

#54

Mental Health Referral in Juvenile Justice
(June 2002)

There is growing recognition within systems of care that youth involved with juvenile justice have high needs for mental health services that are often unmet. This study describes variables associated with mental health referral among 206 pre- and post-adjudicated youths (ages 10-18) who received mental health treatment during a six-month period at a southern california juvenile correctional facility in 1995.

#53

Clinical Profiles of Youth in a System of Care
(June 2002)

The authors of this article replicated a 1998 study by Rosenblatt and colleagues, in which four types of youth were identified in a system of care: troubled, troubling, troubled and troubling, and at-risk. In both the initial Rosenblatt study and the replication described here, youth profiles were found through the use of a cluster analysis based on both clinical factors and environmental and risk factors.

#52

Characteristics and Needs of Families in an Urban Mental Health Service System
(May 2002)

The authors of this article present quantitative and qualitative descriptive data on children 9 to 11 years old, and their families, who were receiving services in a large, east coast urban setting .

#51

Psychiatric Disability: Factor Structure & Relationship to Diagnosis, Age, Gender, & Minority Status
(May 2002)

The aim of this research was to examine disabilities (i.e., impairment in one or more areas of functioning) in 9 to 16 year-olds and determine relationships between disabilities and children's psychiatric diagnoses, gender, age, and ethnicity.

#50

An Evidence-Based, Family-Focused, Early Intervention for Preventing Aggressive Behavior
(April 2002)

Describes the Regional Intervention Program (RIP) and the longitudinal studies that have been conducted to examine its effectiveness. RIP was designed to provide parents with instruction (from other parents who have participated in the program) on methods for interacting with children that will maximize positive, developmentally appropriate behavior, while minimizing noncompliant and negative behaviors.

#49

Cultural Competence: Caregiver Perspectives
(April 2002)

This article presents research from the perspective of caregivers on the extent to which they viewed cultural issues as important in the care of their children with emotional and behavioral disorders and areas in which they were satisfied or dissatisfied with the cultural competence of services.

#48

Service Use & Intensive Family Preservation
(March 2002)

The authors of this article sought opinions from parents and professionals on both causal and solution attribution for children's mental health difficulties. Drawing on a large body of research on attribution theory, the authors hypothesized that parents and professionals would have differing views on causes and solutions.

#47

Family Interventions in Serious Mental Illness
(March 2002)

The author of this study conducted interviews with a sample of families who had received intensive family preservation services to see whether (and what) services recommended by IFPS therapists were used by families.

#46

Long-Term Reliability of the Child Behavior Checklist & the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale
(March 2002)

The Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS) are two standardized questionnaires commonly used in the assessment of children with emotional and behavioral difficulties. The BERS, and particularly the CBCL, have well-established psychometric properties and have repeatedly been shown to be valid and reliable measures. Less researched, however, is the degree to which these instruments yield consistent results over longer periods of time. These two articles focus on this issue, examining the stability of the BERS over six months and the CBCL over four years.

#45

Mood Disorders: Accuracy of Screening Instruments
(January 2002)

The authors of this article sought to determine the diagnostic accuracy of three instruments used to assess depression and anxiety in adolescents.

#44

Mood Disorders: Treatment Patterns in an HMO
(January 2002)

Examines the prevalence, incidence, and use of medication among youth with mood disorders seen in a health maintenance organization (HMO). Results provide descriptive information on youth treated in an HMO and have implications for best practice and treatment decisions.

#43

Paraprofessionals in Educational Settings
(January 2002)

Presents three articles from recent issues of the journal, Exceptional Children, offering a review of the literature on paraprofessionals, as well as data on attitudes toward paraprofessionals and teacher skill in paraprofessional supervision.