A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the relative rates of youth mental health service utilization across settings among the general population and among those with elevated mental health symptoms or clinical diagnoses. Rates of school-based mental health were compared to outpatient, primary care, child welfare, juvenile justice, and…

Provides background on national movements toward expanded school mental health programs and school-based health centers, and presents advantages and challenges of joining these two systems of child and adolescent health care. These challenges, ideas for overcoming them, and future directions for promising service delivery are discussed. (Contains…

Provides overview of sociocultural and political factors in the United States that have influenced recent interest in school-based health and mental health programs. Describes four well-known programs and presents a new framework, the Tripartite Model of School-Based Mental Health Interventions, to stimulate thinking on future programs. Addresses…

Rethinking and expanding the theory of change underlying systems of care are recommended to support development of the knowledge base for understanding what systems of care can be expected to accomplish. Three domains of knowledge are presented as necessary to understanding the relationship between systems-level change and services. (Contains…

This fact sheet explains the concept of "systems of care" in meeting the mental health needs of children and adolescents with behavioral, emotional, or mental health problems. Community-based systems of care provide a coordinated range of mental health and related services and supports. Teams representing public and private organizations…

This article explores how the school-based wraparound approach and a school-wide systems approach to positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) work together to create more effective school environments and improved outcomes for students with or at risk of behavioral challenges. Complementary aspects of these wraparound and PBIS…

This article examines federal, state, and local initiatives that have influenced child welfare policy and practice on a national scale, with particular emphasis on those policies that offer opportunities for better coordination of services between mental health and child welfare agencies. The special circumstances of child welfare clients are…

Introduces this theme issue's articles, which provide a variety of frameworks for understanding and action in relation to the crisis in child and adolescent mental health. Further emphasizes the challenge to provide resources for all children and to provide ideas for the integration of information between education and mental health professionals.…

Reform efforts to improve educational quality and outcomes in public schools in the last decade have focused on improving curricula and teaching methods, with outcomes being gauged by demonstration of improved math and reading scores. This article suggests that outcomes must be assessed for improved outcomes in mental health and classroom…