Explores impact of national policies affecting income maintenance, health, transportation, education, employment, and housing of chronically mentally ill people in rural areas. Suggests policies rendered deinstitutionalization and rural community placement difficult. Reveals interlocking policy environment that warrants widening of mental health…

Introduces and describes 12 peer-reviewed articles that were originally presented at the 21st Annual Teacher Educators for Children with Behavior Disorders conference in November 1997. The articles deal with the education and treatment of students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Discipline, placement, and prevention are addressed. (CR)

This synopsis chapter begins with a review of the main points each of the contributing authors made in their respective articles to this special publication on evidence-based practice in college counseling. A listing and explication of their common concerns about the applicability of EBPs for university mental health then follows. Finally,…

Background: The specific health services provided to students at school and the model for delivering these services vary across districts and schools. This article describes the characteristics of school health services in the United States, including state- and district-level policies and school practices. Methods: The Centers for Disease Control…

Background: Schools are in a unique position to promote healthy dietary behaviors and help ensure appropriate nutrient intake. This article describes the characteristics of both school nutrition services and the foods and beverages sold outside of the school meals program in the United States, including state- and district-level policies and…

Unique challenges surface when providing services in community mental health centers for persons with mental retardation and mental illness. Before any type of mental health treatment for a client with this dual diagnosis can begin, proper assessment is critical. Clinicians working with this population have to adapt their treatment strategies and…

Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) offer employees confidential, professional assistance for the kinds of personal problems that adversely affect their lives and their jobs. These programs started when acute worker shortages during World War II, coupled with the successes of Alcoholic Anonymous, prompted some companies in the 1940s to develop…

This report represents the testimony of Dr. Mary Ann Hutchison, Project Director of the mental health demonstration and research discretionary grant, "Strengthening Head Start Families: Reducing High Risk Through Mental Health Prevention/Intervention," who discusses the importance of reauthorization of Head Start's mental health…

The Governor's Task Force on the Mental Health of Juvenile Offenders in the state of Pennsylvania conducted a statewide survey of facilities for the care, treatment, and rehabilitation of adolescents between 12 and 18 years of age. The Task Force surveyed mental hospitals, community-based services, private psychiatric treatment centers, youth…

The health needs of the approximately three million migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families are clearly among the greatest needs of any population group in the country. In 1962 the Migrant Health Act became the first legislation intended to address some of the health needs of migrants. By 1976 Migrant Health Centers had served 415,000…

Block granting disburses mental health funds largely at the discretion of state mental health authorities, and state priorities typically focus on the most severely ill persons. Rural centers may suffer because multipurpose programs responding to a wide range of community needs are excluded from the mental health service delivery concept. (JHZ)

Discusses challenges to the mental health field as a result of severe economic change. The six articles deal with reindustrialization, the effect of the labor market on mental hospital and prison use, retrenchment strategies, mental health problems in energy boomtowns, and economic issues of public policy. (JAC)

A definition and discussion of cost-benefit/cost-effectiveness analysis and its applications and limitations are presented. Case studies of cost-benefit analysis are given which apply to the mental health field. Includes a brief annotated biliography. (Author/RC)

Providing housing and supports for people with psychiatric disabilities, particularly those who are homeless, is a major public policy challenge. Summarizes ways in which the concept of these needs is rapidly shifting in the mental health field. This population is increasingly seen as capable of full-community participation and integration. (AF)

Description of the development of a theoretically based instrument--the Computer Aversion Scale (CAVS)--to measure negative reactions to computers, focuses on the use of microcomputers in the mental health field. Previous efforts to assess computer anxiety are reviewed, and studies testing the reliability and validity of the CAVS are described.…