Sandtray therapy, in which students use figures and the sand itself to build and design miniature worlds in a tray, can be a powerful and effective tool in meeting the mental health needs of children and adolescents, including and maybe especially children who are deaf and hard of hearing. It is a highly visual approach that crosses language and…

Reliance on subjective grant proposal review methods leads private philanthropies to underfund mental health programs, even when foundations have mental health focuses. This article describes a private mental health foundation's efforts to increase the objectivity of its proposal review process by developing a reliable, valid proposal rating form.…

Conventional monitoring and evaluation (M&E) textbooks rarely address the various political influences exerted on M&E of public health programs. Policymakers are often the largest consumers of M&E information; indeed, the genesis of many public health program evaluation efforts is a need to inform public policy. People define "political…

The increase in the level of severity of student psychological difficulties and the growing need for psychological services in higher education settings has placed considerable pressure on college and university mental health services to respond effectively to this demand. One way several of these services have responded has been to implement…

Purpose: We present final outcomes from the multiple-component Fit and Strong! intervention for older adults with lower extremity osteoarthritis. Design and Methods: A randomized controlled trial compared the effects of this exercise and behavior-change program followed by home-based reinforcement (n = 115) with a wait list control (n = 100) at 2,…

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…

The complex issues of promoting student mental health, privacy and public safety, and the balance among them, weigh on the minds of institutional leaders, educational policymakers, and local, state and federal officials. American campuses have a proud history of intellectual freedom, openness and public accessibility to their communities. However,…

Self-help among low-income people is vitally important. In no area is self-help more important than in overcoming poverty's burdens and energizing the escape from poverty. This document comprises an inventory of self-help and mutual-help programs that feature active involvement of members of the low-income population. The programs in this…

Young people with comorbid disorders (coexisting mental health and substance use disorders) present with particular issues that can be difficult for service providers, and for the community as a whole, to respond to. They tend to fall between the cracks of mental health services and substance use services, with the outcome often being ineffective…

In preparing for changes in federal funding policies the state of Missouri is one of 13 states to participate in the Children's Budget Watch Project, which documents expenditures on children's programs for the fiscal years 1990, 1993, 1994 and 1995. This report from the Citizens for Missouri's Children presents data on Missouri's expenditures in a…

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…

The Brief Intervention Program (BIP) is a mental health day program in Melbourne (Australia) for adolescents with severe mental health problems who are at risk for suicide. The 10-week program serves closed groups of 6-8 adolescents aged 13-18 years and has 3 phases: engagement and orientation (week 1), treatment (weeks 2-9), and integration (week…

Out Doors Inc. is a community-managed mental health organization in Victoria (Australia) that provides psychosocial rehabilitation to adults with mental health needs through outdoor adventure and other recreation experiences. This paper focuses on Out Door Inc.'s Going Places Program. The program, which ranges from 1 day to 4 months, is based on…

This report highlights the major issues discussed during a 2-day workshop on Medicaid funding for community-based mental health services for children and youth with severe emotional disturbances. The report opens with a brief description of the service needs of children and youth with severe emotional disturbances and the system of care that can…

Participants in this conference represented Federal offices and agencies involved in health promotion and education efforts in public schools. The goals of the conference were to share information, to encourage effective use of existing Federal activity, to prevent duplication of effort, and to increase cooperative planning. Detailed information…