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By the end of 2019, there were 70,630 drug overdose deaths in the United States and 9.5 million adults had co-occurring disorders of mental health and substance use disorder. There is a great need to enhance community-based experiential training for students preparing to become behavioral professionals who will work with individuals experiencing mental health and substance use disorders (SUDs). The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate an opioid use disorder (OUD) and other SUDs training program designed to prepare MSW students for delivering prevention, treatment, and recovery services in high need and high demand areas. Two 3-hr trainings on OUD and other SUDs were implemented with 20 MSW students. Students demonstrated a statistically significant increase in their knowledge of opioid use and other substance use disorders from pre- to posttest for and a statistically significant increase in their confidence levels in knowledge about OUD and other SUDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximately 17% of children and adolescents in the United States have at least one mental health disorder. School-based health centers (SBHCs) are widely recognized as critical resources for evaluating and treating mental and physical health needs among school-aged children and adolescents. One primary role that SBHCs can assume for the early identification of physical and mental health problems is that of risk screening. A three-county (rural, semi-rural, and suburban) collaborative of SBHCs located in high-poverty middle and high schools implemented an evidence-based, standardized risk assessment protocol to identify unmet physical and mental health needs among students. Risk assessment measures included the Adolescent Questionnaire (AQ), Rapid Assessment for Adolescent Preventive Services (RAAPS), and Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC, both Parent and Youth Report). Common high-frequency risk factors for adolescents from the AQ and RAAPS included school suspensions, having a boyfriend/girlfriend, and having sex. Common high-frequency PSC symptoms included distractibility, excessive worry, concentration issues, trouble sleeping, and spending much time alone. We concluded by discussing the next steps related to how the data obtained from different communities can be used for data-informed program development and continued quality improvement and monitoring efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the development of the Guilford Parent Academy (GPA), which is a school district-community collaboration developed to promote parent engagement and to assist families by providing online and face-to- face access to resources to help raise a successful and healthy child. Evaluation results over a four-year period suggest that the GPA innovative strategies and programs for reaching parents are increasingly effective within this large, culturally diverse school district. For example, GPA uses free online user accounts to allow parents to access a variety of resources to assist their children's academic and social development. GPA on the Go offers face-to- face workshops at places of business or community settings that broaden the reach of parent engagement programs beyond the confines of the school. Lastly, Parent Ambassadors are working to create peer-to- peer parent networks to engage families and share resources with schools receiving Title I funds. Workshop offerings, online user accounts, and parent participation increased over a four-year period since this initiative was founded. We discuss the utility of the conceptual model and potential for replication of Parent Academy initiatives in other school districts, as well as future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Implicit Curriculum Survey (ICS) using an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Students enrolled in four different MSW programs (N=262) from different geographic locations completed the ICS, which is a Web-based survey. The domains of the ICS include field, academics, community, diversity, faculty advising, and support services. The ICS includes quantitative and qualitative responses. However, for this study only the quantitative results were used. The EFA revealed that for each of the subscales, Cronbach’s alphas ranged from.52 to.90 and validity of the ICS was demonstrated through the good model fits found during the factor analysis. Implications for social work education and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unaddressed behavioral and socioemotional difficulties impact the mental health, educational attainment, and future outcomes of children to such an extent that it is imperative to identify effective strategies for early intervention and treatment. School-based mental health services address students’ socialemotional concerns by removing barriers to accessing appropriate services, improving coordination of services, and implementing prevention and intervention strategies for students. This study evaluates the effects of one such program on the socioemotional well-being of students served across six elementary school sites. Study findings support the critical need for school-based mental health for the promotion of prosocial behavior and socioemotional wellness. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Pursuing a doctoral degree represents a major life change for students, is incredibly demanding, and the process is complex. Although surviving the PhD process is difficult, it can be done. The authors are both recent graduates of a social work doctoral program and have compiled a brief list of inter- and intrapersonal tips that they believe greatly promoted their successful completion of the process and attainment of the degree. They hope these 10 simple strategies are helpful to students pursuing doctoral studies and to social work faculty who currently teach and advise graduate students to promote a successful journey through doctoral education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tested the efficacy of a new social skills intervention, S ocial S kills GR oup IN tervention- High Functioning Autism (S.S.GRIN- HFA), designed to improve social behaviors in children with high functioning autism spectrum disorders. Fifty-five children were randomly assigned to S.S.GRIN- HFA treatment ( n = 27) or control (i.e., traditional S.S.GRIN intervention; n = 28). Examination of the direction and magnitude of change in functioning revealed that children who participated in S.S.GRIN- HFA exhibited significantly greater mastery of social skill concepts compared to children in the control group. Parents of S.S.GRIN- HFA group participants reported an improved sense of social self-efficacy, whereas parents of control participants reported a decline. The advantages of a specialized intervention such as S.S.GRIN- HFA, designed specifically for children with high functioning autism spectrum disorders, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how military families who have children with special health care needs (CSHCN) successfully cope in the context of exceptional demands of the military lifestyle can inform scholarship, policy, and practice to the benefit of families. Using data from 775 female civilian parents (mothers serving as Key Spouses) married to active duty Air Force members, this study examined differences on dimensions of network support and spouse resiliency between mothers who do and do not have CSHCN, as well as the relative contribution of formal and informal network support to variation in self-reports of resiliency among mothers with CSHCN. Mothers with CSHCN experience significantly less formal and informal network support than their counterparts. Despite this, they reported equivalent overall resiliency, with lower perceived resiliency on only one of four resiliency outcomes. More formal and informal network support was generally associated with higher resilience. Implications for policy, practice, and research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Without sufficient education and training on mental illness, school teachers are less likely to have the capacity to recognize related symptoms in students and make appropriate referrals for care. The current pilot study tests the overall effectiveness of a new in-service training designed as the introductory component to a school-based mental health intervention. The training included information on the prevalence of mental health problems in the United States, common youth disorders, and treatment barriers that many families face. Participants' knowledge before and after the training was measured using a 27-item instrument, and statistical significance was assessed for pre- to posttest changes for individual items. Results are overwhelmingly positive and provide evidence of an increase in accurate knowledge of child mental health issues. Implications for both practice and research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An estimated 730,000 Americans younger than age 21 in the United States have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and current trends predict 36,500 new diagnoses each year. Due to this rapid increase in ASD diagnoses, it is critical to understand the impact having a child with ASD has on a family's daily functioning to better coordinate services and design effective interventions. Qualitative semistructured interviews with eight mothers were conducted, and four primary themes emerged identifying primarily negative impacts of having a child with ASD. Implications for practice and future research are addressed to inform the development of best practices for families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recent attention has been given to caseworker characteristics as a relevant variable for study in foster care research. However, very few studies examine the characteristics of caseworkers employed in both public agencies and private contract agencies, in spite of increased privatization of foster care services. This study compared demographics, attitudes and beliefs, and work history among 51 public agency caseworkers and 30 private agency contract caseworkers in three Midwest counties varying in size from small to large. Caseworkers in public agencies had more experience and commensurately higher salary ranges than those employed by private agencies. Also, a larger proportion of public agency caseworkers in the sample were African American or members of several other ethnic minority groups compared to caseworkers in private contract agencies. Differences were noted in caseworkers'' negative attitudes toward drug-using parents, alcohol-abusing parents, and parents with a mental illness, with caseworkers in private contract agencies expressing more negative attitudes toward parents with these conditions. On average, workers across types of agency thought that parents preferred more involvement in treatment planning than the workers themselves preferred. Results are discussed according to their implications for supervision and training of caseworkers, for research, and for policy-making. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]