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In April 2002, the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health was created by executive order to study the mental health care delivery system in our nation and to make recommendations for improvements so that individuals with serious mental disorders can live, work, learn, and fully participate in their homes and communities. In its report, "Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America," the commission provided strategies to address critical infrastructure, practice, and research issues. This article focuses on the work of the commission's Subcommittee on Children and Families, describing its vision for mental health service delivery for children and providing suggestions for strengthening community-based care for youths with or at risk of behavioral health disorders. Training, research, practice, and policy implications for psychologists are discussed.

Discusses two core values and 10 principles to be used in development of systems of care for severely emotionally disturbed children and their families. (RJC)

Discusses the framework and service components of seven major community services which make up a model system of care for severely emotionally disturbed children and their families. (RJC)

Surveys suggest that between 4.3% and 11.5% of children living in the United States have a serious emotional disturbance (SED). SED is defined in the Federal Register, and federal block grants are allocated to states based on the prevalence of SED. Accurate measurement of SED is critical, yet surveys have used different methodologies and instrumentation to obtain prevalence estimates. Two expert panels were convened by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in the fall of 2014 to discuss the current state of the field in operationalizing and measuring SED. The aims of this article are to (a) provide an update on SED prevalence rates from survey research, (b) summarize key discussion points that emerged during the SAMHSA expert panel meetings, and (c) make specific recommendations for next steps in measuring the prevalence of SED. Issues addressed in this article are important not only for federal allocation of service dollars to meet the needs of children with SED, but also for broader mental health surveillance efforts within the context of large national research surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A qualitative case study approach was used to evaluate the impact of managed care reforms on a select sample of systems of care funded by the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families Program. Analyses indicated that the system-of-care philosophy and approach could be maintained in a managed care environment under the right circumstances. These circumstances include (a) the preexistence of a system-of-care philosophy prior to the integration of managed care, (b) stakeholder involvement in managed care planning and implementation, (c) use of a broad array of providers and sufficient support for case management and care coordination activities, (d) identification and support of high utilizer groups within the managed care system, and (e) financial compatibility between managed care and systems of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]