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Mental Health Resources Are Children Accessing and Using Needed Mental Health Care Services? (Posted 1/29/08)This brief from the Urban Institute presents data on mental health coverage benefits and enrollee's access to and use of mental health services through the Healthy Kids program in San Mateo County, California. The prevalence of mental health conditions among enrollees is similar to national levels, but despite the generous mental health benefits offered under the program, only a small fraction of enrollees with mental health conditions receive care. Reasons why more children do not use mental health services are explored. The brief also shows that enrollees with mental health needs have higher use of other health services compared to all Healthy Kids members. The full report can be downloaded by clicking here. NAPNAP’s KySSSM Guide Included in New MCH Library Knowledge Path: Children and Adolescents with Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Challenges (Posted 11/5/07) NAPNAP's KySS Guide to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Screening, Early Intervention and Health Promotion is highlighted in the new knowledge path, Children and Adolescents with Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Challenges. This electronic resource guide taps into the health, education, social services, and juvenile justice literature to present current, high-quality resources on the topic. The knowledge path was produced by the MCH Library to complement the knowledge path, Healthy Social and Emotional Development in Children and Adolescents. The new path identifies tools for staying abreast of developments in mental health care and for conducting further research. Separate sections contain resources for families and schools and resources about specific emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges. View the knowledge path online at http://www.mchlibrary.info/KnowledgePaths/kp_Mental_Conditions.html. Current knowledge paths on other maternal and child health topics are available online at http://mchlibrary.info/KnowledgePaths/index.html. Fact Sheets on Youth Suicide (Posted 10/25/07) The Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) and the Harvard Injury Control Research Center recently published two fact sheets highlighting data gathered from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). Click to view the Youth Suicide Fact Sheet and Youth Suicide Student Status. National Runaway Switchboard (Posted 10/15/07) The National Runaway Switchboard (NRS) has a new program titled: "Let's Talk: Runaway Prevention Curriculum", which provides easy to use lessons on various topics as well as interactive, youth approved activities. To find out more about (NRS) and this program click here. NAPNAP's KySSSM Program has available resources for health care providers, families, parents, children, and teens (Posted 4/18/07) In response to the recent campus shooting tragedy at Virginia Tech on Monday, April 16th, NAPNAP's Keep your children/yourself Safe and Secure (KySSSM) Program has available resources for nurse practitioners and other health care providers to share with parents, teachers, students, children and teens to help cope with loss and grief. A few of the many KySS handouts that are available: Information for Teens about Coping with Loss and Grief, How Can I Help Myself Deal with Loss and Grief?, How Parents Can Help Children/Teens to Cope with Loss and Grief, How Can I Help My Child Deal With Loss and Grief?, Information for Helping Children, Teens, and Their Families Cope with War and/or Terrorism, and Information for Parents on How to Raise a Nonviolent Child. The KySS Guide to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Screening, Early Intervention and Health Promotion offers a variety of KySS Handouts for families, parents, children, and teens on CD-ROM. For additional information on the KySS Guide, click here. For ordering information, click here. New Edition of SAMHSA, "Mental Health, US, 2004" released (Posted 4/16/07) The compendium of the latest information available on mental health services, published every two years since 1983, was released today by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS). For the first time, this edition includes chapters on quality improvement and its application to the mental health field. Specialized topic areas discussed include a national overview of mental health consumer organizations in the United States and the role of information technology as a force that promotes transformation and improved quality of care. Specific issues, population assessments and national service statistics in this compendium include the following: Mental health care in primary care settings; Parental reports of emotional or behavioral difficulties and mental health service use among U.S. school-age children; Mood disorder prevalence among young men and women in the U.S.; National and state trends of organized mental health services; and, Data on the number of mental health practitioners and trainees in the U.S. You may view this publication at http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/SMA06-4195/default.asp. Study Finds Children Living with Chronic Stress Get Sick More Often (Posted 4/3/07) A new study published in the journal Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine finds that children living in families where stress is chronic - such as domestic violence, parental depression and anxiety, conflict between parents, parental poverty or unemployment - pay a measurable price in their health. The study found that children living in situations of chronic stress get sick more often than children living with less stress. Although the research team says the mechanism behind this stress-illness connection is still unclear, their findings suggest that the possible immune system link needs to be further investigated in children. For the abstract of this study, go to http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/161/3/228. Toolkit on Social & Emotional Child Development - Now available in Spanish! (Posted 1/17/07) A Spanish-language resource is helping families and service providers from a range of disciplines as they support the social and emotional development of children. "What to Expect & When to Seek Help: Bright Futures Developmental Tools for Families and Providers," now available in Spanish, was developed by Bright Futures at Georgetown University and the National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental Health, with support from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Each of the four tools included spotlights a developmental stage - infancy, early child hood, middle childhood and adolescence - providing information about development and parenting, as well as tips on when, where and how to seek help. Also included is a tool to help service providers create a referral network. To access this toolkit in both Spanish and English, go to http://www.brightfutures.org/tools/index.html. Mental Health Resource for Older Adolescents (Posted 10/5/06) Mental Health Resource for Older Adolescents, an interactive website that provides valuable information for teenagers to help improve their mental health and well being during the transition-age years is now available. Developed for Australian youth, the site includes coping tips, forums, fact sheets, personal stories as well as resources regarding mental illness, school, employment, stress and relationships. To view this site, click here. Child Bipolar Questionnaire: A dimensional approach to screenig for pediatric bipolar disorder (Posted 9/27/06) A recent study of Child Bipolar Questionnaire (CBQ) reveals it as a rapid and economically feasible tool for identifying possible cases of childhood-onset bipolar disorder. For a full abstract of the study click here. The American Psychological Association (APA) releases a report on children and adolescents with behavioral problems (Posted 9/14/06) The APA has released a report concluding that "Limited access to services for children and adolescents with behavioral problems or mental illness often leads to inadequate care and treatment based on insufficent scientific evidence of safety and effectiveness." To review the report click here. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Adds Searchable Database (Posted 8/24/06) NCHS recently added a searchable database of child and adolescent mental health measures to its website. Click here for the NCHS Measures Catalog for Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Parental Depression Screening for Pediatric Clinicians Implementation Manual (Posted 7/20/07) With the support of The Commonwealth Fund, the Dartmouth Parental Well-Being Project has created a realistic way for pediatric health providers to routinely screen for parental depression and refer parents for help. Through our practice-based research network, we have developed and tested practical approaches that can be implemented at well-child visits. The manual is divided into four sections: a summary of the Well-Being Project; a review of the role of the pediatric provider in the screening process; the five steps for implementing screening in pediatric practices; and a guide for the practice's parent organization or an outside organization or agency, such as a practice network, to assist primary care practices in designing and implementing parental depression screening. Click here to view this manual. 
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