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To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.06.012 Byline: S. Serene Olin (b), Kimberly E. Hoagwood (a)(b), James Rodriguez (b), Marleen Radigan (a), Geraldine Burton (b), Mary Cavaleri (b), Peter S. Jensen (c)(d) Keywords: Parent empowerment; Training model; Advocates; Child mental health Abstract: A pilot study using a prospective design examined the impact of a collaboratively developed training model, called the Parent Empowerment Program (PEP), for professionally-employed family peer advocates who work with caregivers of children with mental health needs. This training used a combination of didactic, practice exercises, and group discussion. It targeted specific mental health knowledge content and collaborative skills to facilitate the work of family peer advocates in empowering caregivers. Co-delivered by a family peer advocate and clinician, the training consisted of a 40-hour face-to-face training, followed by six monthly face-to-face booster sessions. A total of 15 advocates participated in assessments conducted at baseline and post-training. This group of experienced family peer advocates showed no significant increase in knowledge about mental health content, but post-training assessments indicated increased collaborative skills and mental health services self-efficacy. This initial evaluation has implications for expanding training and support for the emergent workforce of professionally-employed family peer advocates in children's mental health. Author Affiliation: (a) Bureau of Youth Services Evaluation Research New York State Office of Mental Health, Albany, NY, United States (b) Division of Mental Health Services and Policy Research, New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States (c) The REACH Institute, New York, NY, United States (d) Division of Child Psychiatry and Psychology, The Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, United States Article History: Received 23 March 2010; Revised 8 June 2010; Accepted 16 June 2010

Abstract: This study examined the impact of a learning collaborative composed of five child mental health agencies which was conducted from November 2005 to November 2006 in a suburban community adjacent to New York City. Data submitted by each agency (in November/December 2005, and then monthly between April 2006 and November 2006) regarding: 1) initial show-rates for first intake appointments for all new evaluations of children and adolescents, and/or; 2) attendance at any scheduled clinic appointment subsequent to the first kept intake appointment, were retrospectively analyzed. Agencies reported an increase in kept initial appointments ranging from 5% to 21% over the previous year, while kept subsequent appointments evidenced an increase between 2% and 16%. In contrast, one site that did not administer the engagement strategies noted a decrease in both engagement and subsequent appointment rates during the course of the collaborative between 9% and 13% respectively. These findings support the effectiveness of learning collaboratives for improving service use among youth with mental health difficulties and their families. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: This study examines the relationship between family processes and youth substance use debuts among a sample of youth residing in urban family homeless shelters. Method: Data regarding shelter experiences, youth and family characteristics, and the use of three substances (i.e., cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana) were gathered from a sample of youth (11–14years) and their respective parents residing in an urban family homeless shelter system. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to examine the influences on youth substance use. Results: Of the 198 youth included in the statistical analysis, 72% (n =143) reported no substance use debuts, while 18% (n =35) indicated one and 10% (n =20) indicated two to three substance use debuts. Within the final model, greater substance use debut was associated with being older (13–14 vs. 11–12; OR=7.5; 95% CI=1.8–30.9) and stressors exposure (OR=4.8; 95% CI=1.5–14.7). Furthermore, youth of adult caretakers that reported low levels of the three family processes considered were almost four and a half more likely (OR=4.4; 95% CI=1.2–16.5) to have made two to three substance use debuts. Conclusions: Family processes may be a particularly important intervention target toward reducing the rate of substance use among youth residing in urban family homeless shelters. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]