This article describes some of the remarkable accomplishments of the states that have participated in the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Financing Policy Project (IECMH-FPP). The purpose of the IECMH-FPP is to support states' advancement of IECMH assessment, diagnosis, and treatment policies that will contribute to the healthy…

This article discusses why and how states are integrating "DC:0-5™: Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood" (DC:0-5) into state policy and systems; provides state examples to highlight some of the strategies that states have used to allow, promote, or require the use of…

Recent violence in schools and on college campuses has brought into sharp focus the need to address mental health issues in educational settings. Getting students with mental health problems the help they need, without stigmatizing mental illness, may help prevent future tragedies. Children with mental health problems face a host of challenges,…

Medications are central to the psychiatric armamentorium in U.S. jails and prisons. Psychiatric medications are used both to stabilize acute symptoms as well as maintain mental health once symptoms are reduced. Both jails and prisons rely heavily on traditional antipsychotics, but both have a full array of atypical medications in their…

Consistent with results of previous needs assessments for urban American Indian and Alaska Native populations, a needs assessment in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area for the Native American Rehabilitation Association Northwest revealed high levels of co-occurring conditions for American Indian and Alaska Native clients, often combining…

The 12th Annual Building on Family Strengths Conference was held from June 23rd through June 25th 2005 in Portland, Oregon. Highlights included: (1) An information-packed keynote address by Dr. Richard M. Lerner on promoting positive youth development through enhancing the assets of communities; (2) An exciting research plenary panel session that…

The 11th Annual Building on Family Strengths Conference was held from May 6th through May 8th, 2004, in Portland, Oregon. Highlights included: (1) The revival of a pre-conference training session; this year featured "Understanding Research and Evaluation in Relation to Social Change," presented by Elaine Slaton and Shannon CrossBear of…

This final report discusses the outcomes of the Family Connections Research and Demonstration Project, a project funded by the Oregon Center for Mental Health Services to study the effectiveness of an intervention designed to address the major problems related to services initiation and continuance within the children's mental health system. The…

With a quarter of the country's children enrolled in Medicaid, the program has become an extremely important source of funding of all public health care for children and now provides half of all spending on public mental health systems. In 2002 the Bazelon Center undertook to examine whether Medicaid-eligible children were, in fact, receiving an…