AICAFMHA:
promoting mental health for young Australians
Australian Infant, Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health Association Ltd
ABN 87 093 479 022

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Welcome to rtcUpdates for April 2003!

rtcUpdates are brought to you by the Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children's Mental Health. Subscribers to rtcUpdates receive occasional email messages from the RTC containing information about the RTC's recent research, publications and other activities, as well as information about developments in the field of Children's Mental Health.

Feel free to forward this message to friends and colleagues. If this email was forwarded to you, you will need to subscribe to rtcUpdates in order to receive future emails. To subscribe to rtcUpdates, go to the RTC home page at http://www.rtc.pdx.edu/ and click on the "Join our List!" link.

CONTENTS OF THIS UPDATE:

** ANNUAL CONFERENCE--Online Registration
** FORUMS--Post Your Opinions
** PROJECT NEWS--Nominate Your Employer
** DATA TRENDS--Recent Research Summaries
** RTC PUBLICATIONS & PRODUCTS--Recently Produced
** FROM THE WEB--Online Information and Sites of Interest

** ANNUAL CONFERENCE

* Online Registration!

Online Registration is now available for the 10th Annual Building on Family Strengths: A National Conference On Research and Services in Support of Children and Their Families, to be held at the Hilton Portland, in Portland, Oregon, June 26-28, 2003.
http://www.rtc.pdx.edu/pgConference.shtml

* Highlights of Our Upcoming Conference

Thursday's Keynote address, "Now more than ever! The steps that systems of care and the wraparound process must take to ensure outcomes" will be presented by Dr. John VanDenBerg, one of the leading innovators of systems of care and the wraparound process. On Friday, research plenary panelists will also focus on how to ensure high quality and effectiveness in the wraparound process. Saturday includes a panel discussion relating to Early Childhood.

Throughout the conference, workshops will showcase culturally competent, family-centered research and innovative programs and practices. The conference will feature paper and panel presentations related to improving services for families and their children who are affected by emotional, behavioral, or mental disorders. Participants will exchange information about family-centered research and program strategies, including family and/or youth involvement in all aspects of research and service delivery.
http://www.rtc.pdx.edu/pgConference.shtml

** FORUMS

This month's Featured Discussion focuses on findings from a recent study showing elevated risk for mental illness and substance abuse among children growing up in single-parent households. These findings raise many questions, particularly regarding what can be done to support single-parent families. Post your comments... http://www.rtc.pdx.edu/pgFeaturedDiscussions.php

Last month's Featured Discussion was devoted to the topic of state budgets and the impact of budget cuts on children with mental health difficulties, their families, and service providers.

Access all discussions from http://www.rtc.pdx.edu/pgForums.shtml

** PROJECT NEWS

* Nominate your EMPLOYER or SUPERVISOR
Do you have an employer or supervisor who really understands what it takes to be a satisfied employee AND parent? Caring for a child with a serious emotional or behavioral disorder can make meeting both work and family responsibilities especially challenging. Help us recognize your employer or supervisor and learn more about successful work-family fit.
Follow this link to download the nomination form: http://www.rtc.pdx.edu/PDF/proj2nomform.pdf

** DATA TRENDS--Recent research summaries include:

* A Family-Centered Early Adolescent Drug Abuse Prevention Model(#72)
* Family Interventions in Serious Mental Illness (#71)
* From incarceration to community (#70)
* Combining employment and caregiving: The views of parents of children with mental health problems (#69)
* Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in youth in juvenile detention (#68)
* Culture and families' experiences of residential treatment: Shared and unique experiences (#67)

Visit our "Data Trends" web page at http://www.rtc.pdx.edu/pgDataTrends.shtml

** RTC PUBLICATIONS & PRODUCTS -- Recently produced

* Publications:

Friesen, B. J., Giliberti, M., Katz-Leavy, J., Osher, T. L. & Pullmann, M. D. (2003). Research in the service of policy change: The "custody problem". Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 11(1), 39-47. (Reprints will be available to order soon - watch for ordering information in upcoming rtcUpdates)

Friesen, B. J. & Winters, N. C. (2003). The role of outcomes in systems of care: Quality improvement and program evaluation. In A. J. Pumariega & N. C. Winters (Eds.), The handbook of child and adolescent systems of care: The new community psychiatry (pp. 459-486). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Koroloff, N., Osher, T., Schutte, K., & Robinson, A. (2003). Family members as evaluators: Preliminary results of a training curriculum. In Newman, C., Liberton, C., Kutash, K. & Friedman, R. M. (Eds.). The 15th annual research conference proceedings, A system of care for children's mental health: Expanding the research base. (pp. 177-180). Tampa: University of South Florida, The Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health.
Available from http://rtckids.fmhi.usf.edu/conference_proceedings.htm (chapter two)

Pullmann, M., Savage, P., & Koroloff, N. (2003). More than money: Do family resources predict caregiver strain? In Newman, C., Liberton, C., Kutash, K. & Friedman, R. M. (Eds.). The 15th annual research conference proceedings, A system of care for children's mental health: Expanding the research base. (pp. 127-130). Tampa: University of South Florida, The Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health. Available from http://rtckids.fmhi.usf.edu/conference_proceedings.htm (chapter two)

Robinson, A., Pullmann, M., Jivanjee, P., Friesen, B., & Kruzich, J. M. (2003). Out of sight, out of mind? Perspectives on parent-child contact during residential treatment. In Newman, C., Liberton, C., Kutash, K. & Friedman, R. M. (Eds.). The 15th annual research conference proceedings, A system of care for children's mental health: Expanding the research base. (pp 165-169). Tampa: University of South Florida, The Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health. Available from http://rtckids.fmhi.usf.edu/conference_proceedings.htm (chapter two)

* Presentations:

Friesen, B. J., Robinson, A., Jivanjee, P., Kruzich, J. M., Pullmann, M. (2003, March 3). Barriers and supports to family participation: What residential treatment providers need to know. Presented at the Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health 16th Annual Research Conference.
http://www.rtc.pdx.edu/PDF/presP1fl03.pdf

** FROM THE WEB -- Online information and sites of interest

ACCESS TO SERVICES

* SSA Requests Feedback on Rules Used to Evaluate Mental Disabilities
In an effort to update the rules used to evaluate mental disabilities in adults and children who apply for social security disability benefits or supplemental security income payments, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is asking interested people and organizations to send in comments and suggestions. SSA is also calling for ideas on improving programs for people with mental disorders, especially those who would like to work full-time or part-time with supports. Comments must be sent in by June 16, 2003 to regulations@ssa.gov, (410)-966-2840 (Fax) or on the SSA Program Policy Information site, http://policy.ssa.gov/pnpublic.nsf/LawsRegs
To find out more, visit http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2003/03-6278.htm

* Medicaid State Waiver Plans
According to the April 5, 2003 National Journal, the current U.S. Health and Human Services administration has issued more Medicaid waivers than all previous administrations combined, leading to the elimination of thousands of children from eligibility in some states like Tennessee. The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured has state-by-state information on how waivers are impacting the uninsured and the coverage provided to low-income beneficiaries in Medicaid and SCHIP.
http://www.kff.org/content/2003/waivers/

EDUCATION

* IDEA: Improving Educational Results for Children with Disabilities Act
The Wrightslaw website is tracking the progress through the US Congress of the reauthorization and proposed changes to IDEA. This article is a summary of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce's proposed changes to IDEA in its reauthorization bill, which included aligning IDEA with the No Child Left Behind standards, reducing paperwork burden, allowing a 3-year Individualized Education Plan, identifying students with specific learning disabilities before they fail, increasing professional development and training for teachers, and allowing districts to have one discipline policy for all children.
http://www.wrightslaw.com/news/2003/idea.house.bill.0319.htm

OTHER RESOURCES & INFORMATION

* New Website to Gather Comments About Disability Research Needs
A new Web site has been developed by the government's Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR) to gather comments and recommendations on research needs for Americans with disabilities.
http://www.icdr.us/

* Summary of the 2002 State of the States Study on Disability Financing
Where do the disability dollars in the 50 U.S. states and D.C. go? The State of the States study has attempted to capture financial data on disability financing in the U.S. since 1982, most recently in the 7th edition titled "Disability at the Dawn of the 21st Century and the State of the States" published by AAMR in 2002. A 56-page free summary of this study is now available online in the AAMR Reading Room. The summary contains introductions on community residential services, public and private institutions, general trends in system financing, community services trends, significance of Medicaid, and fiscal effort in states, in addition to a list of references and data sources used in the study.
http://www.aamr.org/Reading_Room/pdf/sos_toc.pdf

* Early Childhood Development: An Effective Economic Development Strategy
The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, in the March edition of its newsletter, the FedGazette, advocates economic investment in Early Childhood Development (ECD), declaring "If properly funded and managed, investment in ECD yields an extraordinary return, far exceeding the return on most investments, private or public." Using Minnesota as an example, the article presents a compelling case for public subsidies for ECD.
http://minneapolisfed.org/pubs/fedgaz/03-03/earlychild.cfm

* Improved Outcomes for Families with Disabilities on TANF
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs could give adults in families with disabled parents or children the training and support they need to secure and maintain employment. Many families have been sanctioned or removed from assistance instead. This National Council on Disability position paper calls for state flexibility in defining what counts as work activities and ensuring that programs comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/familysupports.html

* Medicare Outperforms Private Insurance at Containing Health Care Spending
The Urban Institute reports, "Medicare health care spending per enrollee rose at a slower rate than private health insurance between 1970 and 2000, according to an article published in Health Affairs..." These findings have important implications for the debate over Medicare reform proposals, particularly the issue of a prescription drug benefit.
http://www.urban.org/Template.cfm?Section=PressReleases&NavMenuID=4&PublicationID=8297&Template=/TaggedContent/PressReleases.cfm

* SAMHSA Unveils New Guide to Effective Substance Abuse Prevention
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released its new edition of Science-based Prevention Programs and Principles: Effective Substance Abuse and Mental Health Programs for Every Community. It reviews current substance abuse prevention theory and practice and identifies tested and effective model substance abuse prevention and mental health promotion programs.
http://www.modelprograms.samhsa.gov/

* An Assessment of the Privatization of Child Welfare Services
There is a growing movement to turn the provision of child welfare services over to private-sector agencies and organizations. This, the first national study of this issue, looks at how six different privatization initiatives in the child welfare system affect children and families.
http://www.cwla.org/pubs/pubdetails.asp?PUBID=8765

* Childhood Exposure to Media Violence Predicts Young Adult Aggressive Behavior
A 15-year study published in the March issue of Developmental Psychology links childhood exposure to violent television shows with later aggressive tendencies, regardless of initial aggression levels.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-03/apa-cet030303.php

* Summer Camps for Kids with Disabilities
It's not too early to start looking for a good summer camp. Here's a list of lists compiled by the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities to aid your search.
http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/genresc/camps.htm

* Resources for Coping with Tragic Circumstances
These are tense times for children, as they hear about war in Iraq and the possibility of a terrorist threat at home. Connect for Kids has assembled resources for parents, educators and others to help children cope.
http://www.connectforkids.org/resources3139/resources_show.htm?doc_id=120823

Funds to support this activity come from the Child, Adolescent and Family Branch, Federal Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, U.S. Department of Education.

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Back to AICAFMHA Homepage / News in Brief Index / Issue #3.07

Last Modified: 26-04-2003 17:17:41