Background: Family involvement is viewed as an important component of the treatment process for children in residential treatment centers, but little is known about the impact of contact with family members on changes in youth functioning. Objective: The goal of this study was to use administrative data to examine the association between family…

This article presents the findings from a longitudinal investigation of the prevalence of negative contact with the law for a sample of youth 12-18 months after graduating from residential and intensive children's mental health programming. Results of this study suggest serious community adaptation difficulties face many youth graduating from…

This report stems from a larger study on the outcomes of children and youth who accessed residential treatment or a home-based alternative. In this report an analysis of family descriptive information, the nature of family relationships, and indicators of family functioning for children and youth who have participated in children's mental health…

This descriptive case study reports on the positive impact of a consultative review methodology used to conduct quality assurance reviews as part of the Residential Treatment Center Evaluation Project. The study details improvement in the quality of services provided to youth in unmonitored residential treatment facilities. Improvements were…

Unfortunately, racial disparities are well documented in the delivery of behavioral health services. This study examines the effects of implementing a decision support process, integrating clinical information into the administration of mental health services, on racial disparities in psychiatric hospital admissions for children in state custody.…

Describes an alternative to traditional residential care for children with behavior disorders, neuroses, bizarre behavior, or immature personality designed to maintain the child in his or her own rural community and to provide a family-type experience. (RH)

Describes retrospective study of 100 consecutive referrals of females who offend to an Adolescent Forensic Mental Health Services. Referrers were found to have only correctly documented violent and aggressive behavior in 54% of the cases. Seventy-one of the girls had been abused, the majority having been multiply abused. Of the violent girls, 50%…

A study compared 58 patients who were deaf and 168 hearing patients at a facility serving youth with psychological disturbances. All of the children who were deaf and admitted at age 12 or younger had strong or confirmed indications of sexual abuse and 85 percent of the adolescents. Residential facilities are described. (Contains references.)…

Provides a selective review of relevant research on developmental psychopathology and its relevance for group care programming; a summary overview of major themes in residential care outcome research; and suggestions for future research on group care with implications for direct practice, service organization, and policy. (TJQ)

Describes Project Adventure's Legacy program, a 12-bed, 10-month residential program for juvenile sex-offenders in Georgia. Most offenders started as victims, so the program must address their early sexual trauma. Adventure-based counseling, with its emphasis on the total mind-body experience, is especially suited for this. Sidebars present the…

A study examined the long-term (3 year) treatment outcomes of all adolescents (n=2,481) who received services in Vermont's statewide systems of care. Recipients of services had substantially elevated rates of incarceration and hospitalization but maternity rates in the treatment groups were not different from other young women. (Contains…

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)

Services for people with mental retardation in the Netherlands are examined, with emphasis on normalization, placement options including group homes and institutionalization, guidance for families through the Social Pedological Service, and the care of mental illness in mentally retarded persons through special diagnostic and treatment centers.…

Families In Recovery Staying Together (FIRST) is a team from Children's Hospital and Research Center at Oakland that has joined in collaboration with two local perinatal residential drug treatment programs to create early childhood mental health services at those sites. The authors highlight the collaboration strategies and challenges the partners…

Described are educational services, residential programs, and financial support for individuals with mental retardation in Belgium. The services are available from several government agencies and cover the entire life cycle of the individual. The situation of the mentally handicapped person with psychiatric problems is also briefly reviewed. (JDD)