Of all of the medical specialties, child and adolescent psychiatry has the most severe shortage of practitioners. This shortage is even more pronounced in economically disadvantaged and rural areas. The American Indian population is younger, more economically disadvantaged, and more rural than the general U.S. population (United States Census…

The School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) is a national survey periodically conducted to assess school health policies and programs at the state, district, school, and classroom levels. This brief reports study results in the area of violence prevention, covering the following topics: (1) Health Education; (2) Health Services and…

Background: Schools are in a unique position not only to identify mental health problems among children and adolescents but also to provide links to appropriate services. This article describes the characteristics of school mental health and social services in the United States, including state- and district-level policies and school practices.…

The increasing health needs of students over the last 20 years have left many school personnel with questions and fears about helping these students. This program outline offers suggestions for school health care plans for students. It is essential that all people involved with the student be invited to be a part of the team. Key team members are:…

This digest briefly summarizes the parallel development of outdoor education and outdoor therapeutic programs for troubled and adjudicated youth, describes the rationale supporting outdoor approaches, and reports related research and evaluation findings. First attempts to use the outdoors as a healing environment were "tent therapy"…

The School-Community Health Alliance for Rural Practitioners (SCHARP) was planned and implemented to address the severe health education and service problems faced by school children and citizens of rural America. Small rural school and communities lack the resources, expertise, and leverage to influence public policy to address these needs. This…

This guide is designed to assist family organizations and advocates of children with mental, emotional, or behavior disorders in asking the right questions at the right time during the development of their state's publicly funded managed behavioral health care plans. The first section provides an overview of managed care, including information on…

How can clinicians receive the necessary training and information to take on the challenges and opportunities of working in the real world of today's managed healthcare? Focusing on working within the realities of managed care, this volume provides resources and ideas for integrating training on the practicalities of managed care into mental…

In 1994, an Institute of Medicine committee was convened to study comprehensive school health programs (CSHPs) in grades K-12 and to make recommendations for national, state, and local actions. The background of the study, issues considered by the committee, and an overview of CSHPs are discussed in the first two chapters of this report. The…

This annual report of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development (NERCRD) highlights the Center's activities, programs, projects, and publications for fiscal year 1998. NERCRD receives modest funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other funds from private foundations. Funds are used to link rural development efforts of the 15…

Empowerment as a philosophy, approach, or method of practice provides a way to rethink social work practice and to achieve needed social change, personally and politically, in ways that meet human needs. Part One, "An Introduction to Empowerment Practice," written by the editors, describes the elements and process of the model in the first…

This document is part of a series of monographs on community-based services for children and adolescents who are severely emotionally disturbed. The series is the product of a national study of community-based service approaches which identified over 200 programs serving emotionally disturbed children and included visits to several programs…

The goals of the Corporate Summit for Children were to: (1) increase understanding about the tremendous impact of maternal and child health-related costs on the private sector; (2) clarify the role that business, health professionals, educators, and policymakers can play together in the workplace, in the community, and in the public policy arena…

The Fort Bragg Child Mental Health Demonstration Project is an integrated services system which provides a comprehensive, organized system of mental health and substance abuse services. The project serves approximately 46,000 children (under 18 years of age) in the Fort Bragg catchment area (a 5,000 square mile area within a 40-mile radius of…

Health education programs for older adults can be an efficient and cost-effective way to meet the challenge of a healthy old age. This directory describes 36 health education programs for the rural elderly in the areas of comprehensive programs, mental health, nutrition, physical health (including exercise), medication, safety, and health…