Search the Databases

Find Services

• Resource Guides
  • All Guides by Topic
  • Family Resources
  • Knowledge Paths
  • MCH Professional Education
  • Multimedia Resources
  • Non-English Languages
  • Professional Resources
  • School Resources
• MCH Alert Newsletter
• MCH Links
• Special Projects
  • AIM Partners
  • MCH History
  • MCH Thesaurus
  • MCHB Final Reports
  • MCHB-Funded Projects
  • MCHB Resource Centers
  • State MCH-Medicaid TA

Partner Projects

• Bright Futures
  • 3rd Edition Guidelines
• Bright Futures for Women
• Distance Learning
• Healthy Start
• Oral Health
• Sudden Infant Death

Site Tools

• About | How to Use | FAQ
• Contact Us
• Feedback and Questions
• Library Fact Sheet (PDF)
• Library Awards

Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Challenges in Children and Adolescents
Knowledge Path

Introduction

This knowledge path directs readers to a selection of current, high-quality resources that analyze data, describe effective programs, and report on policy and research aimed at improving access to and quality of care for children and adolescents with emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges. Resources tap into the health, education, social services, and juvenile justice literature. This knowledge path can be used by health professionals, program administrators, policymakers, educators, and community advocates to learn more about mental health, for program development, and to locate training resources and information to answer specific questions. Separate briefs present resources for families and schools. This knowledge path has been compiled by the MCH Library at Georgetown University and will be updated periodically.

Overview

See the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) policy brief, Children’s Mental Health: What Every Policymaker Should Know (2010). This policy brief presents statistics about the extent of child and adolescent mental health challenges in the United States; the difficulties these children confront in school and in child welfare and juvenile justice systems; the barriers that can prevent access to services; and weaknesses in the service-delivery system. The brief recommends policy strategies to enhance mental health for children, adolescents, and families.

Resources for Professionals

Websites

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Evidence-based information on health care outcomes; quality; and cost, use, and access. Links to evidence reports and research findings about children and adolescents with emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges. Resources and initiatives include
  
  Child Health Care Quality Toolbox: Measuring Quality in Children's Health Programs. Tips and tools to help state and local policymakers and program administrators evaluate Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Title V, and other health programs for children and adolescents. Includes mental health quality measures.
  
  Integrating Mental Health Treatment Into the Patient Centered Medical Home. (2010). [White paper].
  
  
• American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP). Information about research, legislative activities, and meetings about child and adolescent mental health. Includes practice information, training and education tools, and patient-education materials. Recent resources include
  
  Guide to Building Collaborative Mental Health Care Partnerships in Pediatric Primary Care. (2010).
  
  
• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Children's Mental Health in Primary Care. Policy statements, reports, practice guidelines, webinars, grant project information, and other resources for health professionals about mental health and children and adolescents. Includes a toolkit to assist AAP chapters in addressing and improving children’s mental health in primary care in their state and information about collaborative projects of care among primary care health professionals and mental health professionals. Other recent resources and initiatives include
  
  dbpeds.org. Resources for health professionals about child development and behavior, especially in the medical setting. Includes forms, checklists, and other screening tools; online tutorials; and articles to support improvement in developmental and behavioral screening, surveillance, and identification of disabilities.
  
  Enhancing Pediatric Mental Health Care: Report from the American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Mental Health. (2010).
  
  Healthy Foster Care America. Information about the range of health care issues and needs of children and adolescents in foster care, including mental and behavioral health. Resources include facts, statistics, policy statements, advocacy information, and a library of materials.
  
  Pediatric and Adolescent Mental Health Emergencies in the Emergency Medical Services System. (2011). [Technical report].
  
  
• Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. Legislative news, fact sheets, and reports about coordinating systems of care for children and adolescents with emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges that support families and enable children to become successful adults. The center works to advance and preserve the rights of people with mental health challenges and developmental disabilities.
  
  
• Bright Futures at Georgetown University. Guidelines, distance-education resources, and training tools for a practical developmental approach to providing health supervision for infants, children, and adolescents, including those with special health care needs. Topics include general health and development, mental health, nutrition, oral health, and physical activity. Some materials are available in Spanish. Materials include
  
  Bright Futures in Practice: Mental Health. (2002). [Guidelines].
  
  What to Expect and When to Seek Help: Bright Futures Developmental Tools for Families and Providers. (2006). [Available in English and Spanish].
  
  
• Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS): Children's Behavioral Health. Program information, webinars, toolkits, and issue briefs about coordinated-care-management approaches that integrate the delivery of physical and behavioral health services for children with behavioral or emotional problems. Includes a series of webinars about an initiative to develop, implement, and evaluate a care-management model in several states for improving quality and reducing costs for high-utilizing Medicaid- and CHIP-enrolled children with serious behavioral health challenges. CHCS is a nonprofit health policy resource center that focuses on improving the quality and cost-effectiveness of publicly financed health care.
  
  
• FrameWorks Institute: Child and Family Mental Health. Research reports and tools about the gap between scientific knowledge and the public's perception about child and family mental health and how to more effectively communicate knowledge to the public and policymakers to close the gap. The FrameWorks Institute aims to advance the nonprofit sector's communications capacity by identifying, translating, and modeling relevant scholarly research for framing the public discourse about social problems. Recent resources include
  
  How to Talk About Children’s Mental Health: A FrameWorks MessageMemo. (2010). [Research brief].
  
  Power of Levelness: Making Child Mental Health Visible and Concrete Through a Simplifying Model. (2010). [Report].
  
  Refining the Options for Advancing Support for Child Mental Health Policies. (2010). [Report].
  
  Talking About Children’s Mental Health. [Toolkit].
  
  
• Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development (GUCCHD): Mental Health. Program, conference, and training information; publications; and other resources to improve the quality of life for all children and adolescents, especially those with special health care needs or who are at risk for poor outcomes. Resources and initiatives about mental health include
  
  National Center for Cultural Competence (NCCC). Resources and tools to increase the capacity of health and mental health programs to design, implement, and evaluate culturally and linguistically competent service-delivery systems. Materials are available in Spanish.
  
  National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental Health. A monthly webinar series and presentation materials, an interactive electronic newsletter, conference information, publications, and other resources about reforming services and building systems of care for children and adolescents who have or are at risk for mental health challenges and their families. Recent publications include
  
  
  • A Public Health Approach to Children's Mental Health: A Conceptual Framework. (2010). [Monograph, Executive summary].
    
    
  Also see the Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (CECMHC).
  
  
• Healthy People 2020. Information about this national health-promotion and disease-prevention initiative of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). View the overview, objectives, and recommended interventions and resources for mental health and mental disorders and substance abuse.
  
  
• Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). Information about MCHB's projects and initiatives on behalf of America's women, infants, children, adolescents, and their families. Resources and initiatives include
  
  Maternal and Child Health Training Program. Information about and resources to support university-based centers funded to train the next generation of leaders in maternal and child health (MCH) with an emphasis on interdisciplinary, family-centered, culturally competent care with a population-focused, public health approach. Disciplines include developmental-behavioral pediatrics and adolescent health.
  
  Mental and Emotional Well-Being of Children: A Portrait of States and the Nation 2007. (2010). [Chartbook].
  
  
• National Association of Mental Health Planning and Advisory Councils (NAMHPAC). Links to the website for each state and territory mental health planning and advisory council. Includes toolkits, brochures, and position statements to help the councils function more effectively. NAMHPAC is a national association of advocates, parents, and consumers involved with state mental health planning.
  
  
• National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD). Information about NASMHPD's technical-assistance programs, publications, data, and other resources that focus on state mental health services, including programs for children, adolescents, and families.
  
  
• National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP). Program information and publications about children's mental health. Located at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, NCCP works to identify and promote strategies that prevent child poverty and improve the lives of children and families with low incomes in the United States. Recent publications include
  
  Unclaimed Children Revisited: Focusing on Outcomes—A Case Study of the Michigan Level of Functioning Project. (2010). [Report].
  
  
• National Children's Study. Information about this study to examine the effects of environmental influences on the health and development of more than 100,000 children and adolescents across the United States, following them from before birth until age 21. The goal of the study is to improve children's health and well-being and to improve the prevention and treatment of health problems such as behavior, learning, and mental health disorders. The study is being led by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) in collaboration with a consortium of federal government partners.
  
  
• Promising Practices Network (PPN) on Children, Families, and Communities. Information about programs and practices that research indicates are effective in improving outcomes for children, adolescents, and families on topics that include behavior problems and mental health. PPN is operated by the RAND Corporation.
  
  
• Research and Training Center for Pathways to Positive Futures. Information about research projects that address issues such as career planning and development, foster care, treatment planning, transition policies, electronic health information literacy, and stigmatization in adolescents and young adults with serious mental health challenges. Resources include a webinar series and other training tools, research reviews, articles, fact sheets, and reports. The center is located at Portland State University. Recent publications include
  
  Paving the Way: Meeting Transition Needs of Young People with Developmental Disabilities and Serious Mental Health Conditions. (2010). [Report].
  
  
• Statewide Family and Consumer Networks Technical Assistance Center. Webinars, meeting materials, and publications to support organizational and infrastructure development for family and consumer mental health support networks. Topics include children's mental health. The center provides technical assistance to Statewide Family Network and Statewide Consumer Network grantees of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
  
  
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Resources about mental health conditions and substance abuse; treatment, prevention, and recovery; service delivery and practice issues; research; data; and grants. Topics include health reform, health information technology, mental health systems of care, and the specific needs of military families. Some materials are available in Spanish. In addition to electronic news services, recent publications and initiatives include
  
  Adolescent Mental Health: Service Settings and Reasons for Receiving Care. (2009). [Report].
  
  Getting Started with Evidence-Based Practice: Family Psychoeducation. (2010). [Kit].
  
  Independent Evaluation of the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant. (2010). [Report].
  
  Mental Health Services Provided Across State Government Agencies. (2009). [Report].
  
  Mental Health Statistics on Youth. (2010). [Data brief].
  
  Mental Health, United States, 2008. (2010). [Report].
  
  National Expenditures for Mental Health Services and Substance Abuse Treatment, 1986–2005. (2011). [Report, Data files].
  
  Caring for Every Child's Mental Health. Information about and materials to support this communications campaign to stimulate support for a comprehensive system of care approach to children's mental health services. Includes National Children's Mental Health Awareness Day materials and resources about systems-of-care and early childhood mental health.
  
  Resource Center to Promote Acceptance, Dignity, and Social Inclusion Associated with Mental Health (ADS Center). Information about what works to promote acceptance and social inclusion of people with mental health challenges in schools, communities, and workplaces. Includes training tools and resources to help create initiatives to promote social inclusion. Other resources address language, the media, policy and legislation, research, education, culture, gender, employment, rural communities, housing, faith communities, and substance use disorders.
  
  
• Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health (TA Partnership). Program and conference information, webinars, reports, an electronic newsletter, and other resources to support local communities in their efforts to successfully develop and implement systems of care to meet the mental health needs of children, adolescents, and families. The TA Partnership is a collaboration between the National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health and the American Institutes for Research with funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
  
  
• TeenScreen National Center for Mental Health Checkups. Resources for the early identification of mental illness in adolescents, including kits for developing a mental health screening initiative in primary care offices, schools, and community-based programs; evidence-based resources for providing mental health checkups to adolescents as part of their routine health care; fact sheets on mental health, depression, and suicide; and a state resource center with information about adolescent suicide, mental health issues, policy, and state and federal government contacts. TeenScreen is affiliated with the Columbia University Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Recent resources include
  
  On the Front Line: How Pediatricians Can Improve Teen Mental Health. (2010). [Webinar, Background materials].
  
  Priorities and Practicalities: Obtaining Payment for Mental Health Services in the Pediatric Office. (2011). [Webinar].
  
  Trends in the Prescription of Antipsychotic Medications to Young Children. (2010). [Webinar].
  
  What Do Health Care Reform and Insurance Parity Mean for Consumers and Families? (2010). [Webinar].
  
  
• Think:Kids. Rethinking Challenging Kids. Information about and resources to support this evidence-based approach for helping children with behavioral challenges. Resources are designed for mental health professionals, pediatricians, the leadership and staff of therapeutic facilities, educators, and parents and include an assessment tool, implementation guide, online discussion forums and a blog, training videos, and podcasts. Think:Kids is a program in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital.
  

Additional Electronic Publications

• Ginsburg S, Foster S, Santoro K, Schoenman J. 2009. Strategies to Support the Integration of Mental Health Into Pediatric Primary Care. Washington, DC: National Institute for Health Care Management Research and Educational Foundation. [Paper].
  
  
• Holt W. 2010. The Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Project: Supporting Mental Health Treatment in Primary Care. New York, NY: Commonwealth Fund. [Case study].
  
  
• Kraczkowsky K, Reagin A, Sherrets D. 2009. An Employer's Guide to Child and Adolescent Mental Health: Recommendations for the Workplace, Health Plans, and Employee Assistance Programs. Washington, DC: National Business Group on Health. [Guide].
  
  
• Larson M. 2009. Supporting Transition to Adulthood Among Youth with Mental Health Needs: Action Steps for Policymakers. Washington, DC: National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth). [Policy brief].
  
  
• Lenardson JD, Ziller EC, Lambert D, Race MM, Yousefian A. 2010. Access to Mental Health Services and Family Impact of Rural Children with Mental Health Problems. Portland, ME: Cutler Institute for Health and Social Policy. [Report, Research and policy brief].
  
  
• Maza C, Krehely J. 2010. How to Improve Mental Health Care for LGBT Youth: Recommendations for the Department of Health and Human Services. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress. [Issue brief].
  
  
• Maza C. 2010. Providing a Lifeline for LGBT Youth: Mental Health Services and the Age of Consent. Washington, DC: Center for American Progress. [Issue brief].
  
  
• McMorrow S, Howell E. 2010. State Mental Health Systems for Children: A Review of the Literature and Available Data Sources. Washington, DC: Urban Institute. [Report].
  
  
• National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth). 2009. Helping Youth with Mental Health Needs Avoid Transition Cliffs: Lessons from Pioneering Transition Programs. Washington, DC: National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth). [Issue brief].
  
  
• National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth). 2009. Successful Transition Models for Youth with Mental Health Needs: A Guide for Workforce Professionals. Washington, DC: National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth). [Issue brief].
  
  
• O'Connell E, Boat T, Warner, KE, eds. 2009. Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People: Progress and Possibilities. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. [Report, webcast, report brief for policymakers, report brief for researchers, and brochure for parents].
  
  
• Parisi L, Bruno R. 2010. Dental and Mental Health Benefit: Improvements in CHIPRA. Washington, DC: Families USA. [Brief].
  

Databases

The databases listed below are excellent tools for identifying data, additional literature and research, and programs about children and adolescents with emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges. Many of the entries below contain tips on how to use the databases efficiently. Please note that databases vary in how terms should be entered; for example, some require quotation marks and others don't. Enter search phrases as shown in bold below.

Data

• Child Trends DataBank. Data briefs about children and adolescents with emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges on topics that include depression, suicide, substance use, learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), child maltreatment, and eating disorders. The DataBank also contains information about the types of programs and interventions that may influence particular outcomes for children and adolescents. Child Trends is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization providing research and data to inform decision-making that affects children and adolescents.
  
  
• Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DRC). Data from the National Survey of Children's Health, 2003 and 2007, and the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs, 2001 and 2005/2006. For data about children and adolescents with emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges, see the search box for the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs, 2001 & 2005/2006, and select Condition-Specific. Choose a state or nationwide, select a report format, and select a condition. Click on Next to get your profile. DRC is a project of the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative (CAHMI).
  
  
• Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP): HCUPnet. Health statistics and information on hospital inpatient and emergency department utilization at the national, regional, and state levels, including use of hospitals by children. To identify data about hospital use related to emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges in children and adolescents, select National Statistics on Children. Select Researcher, medical professional. Under type of query, select Statistics on specific diagnoses or procedures. Select a year (e.g., 2006). Select Diagnoses grouped by Clinical Classifications Software (CCS). Select Principal diagnosis. Under the field, Browse all CCS categories, scroll to 5 Mental Disorders and select a category. Click on Next. Select the outcomes and measures of interest (e.g., Number of discharges) and click on Next. Select patient and hospital characteristics (e.g., All patients in all hospitals) and click on Next. View your results. HCUP is an initiative of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
  
  
• Health Indicators Warehouse (HIW). National, state, and community health indicators organized by topic, geography, and initiative. To identify indicators about children and adolescents with emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges, click on Select a topic and choose Mental Health and Substance Abuse. Select an indicator. HIW serves as the data hub for the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Community Health Data Initiative, a collaboration of many agencies and offices within DHHS.
  
  
• National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Research Institute (NRI). Data and reports on various aspects of state mental health agency financing, staffing, clinical services, and interactions with other public service systems. Select Search Mental Health Data and Topics to access NRI's databases on state mental health systems and to search the NRI site for information on a specific topic (e.g., children).
  
  
• National Quality Measures Clearinghouse™ (NQMC). Evidence-based health-care-quality measures and measure sets for physicians, hospitals, and health plans to evaluate and improve the quality of health care for consumers. Identify measures about children and adolescents with emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges by selecting Advanced Search. Type mental disorders in the Keyword field. Scroll down on the search form to select Age Range (e.g., Adolescent). Hold down the control key (ctrl) or Apple command key and click your mouse to make multiple selections. Click on Show results to get your results. For measures about specific mental health needs, type the name of the disorder (e.g., depression) in the Keyword field and scroll down to select Age Range. Click on Show results to get your results. The database is sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
  
  
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive (SAMHDA). Archive of substance abuse and mental health research data. To find data, enter the name of the condition (e.g., depression) in the search term box. SAMHDA is an initiative of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
  
  
• Title V Information System (TVIS). Data from annual Title V Block Grant applications and reports submitted by all 59 U.S. states and jurisdictions. To learn about states' efforts to address mental health in children and adolescents, conduct two searches. Select Measurement and Indicator Data and go to the State Data section. Select State Priority Needs Keyword Search and choose Keyword: Mental Health and Population: Children (1 through 21). Click on Start Search to get your results. Go back to the TVIS home page and select Measurement and Indicator Data. Under State Data, select State Performance Measures and click on Search by Keyword/Population. Select Keyword: Mental Health and Population: Children (1 through 21). Click on Start Search to get your results. Title V IS is a service of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB).
  
  
• Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS): Youth Online. View national, state, and local data about health-risk behaviors that contribute markedly to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among adolescents and adults in the United States. View data about high school and middle school students by location (United States, state/territory, or local) and health topic (unintentional injuries and violence, including suicide, tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, sexual behaviors, dietary behaviors, physical activity, and asthma). Youth Online is a service of CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH).
  

Literature and Research Databases

• Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD) Databases. Summaries of systematic reviews, economic evaluations, and health technology assessments that have met strict quality criteria and address the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of health care interventions. To identify summaries about mental health challenges, type in the Quick search field the name of the condition followed by the phrase AND (children OR adolescents) (e.g., ADHD AND (children OR adolescents). Click on Go. CRD is located at the University of York, United Kingdom.
  
  
• ClinicalTrials.gov. Information about clinical research studies for a wide range of diseases and conditions, including those affecting the mental health of children and adolescents. Included are a summary of the purpose of the study, the recruiting status, criteria for patient participation, the trial location, and contact information. To identify mental-health-related studies, select Search for Clinical Trials. Select Advanced Search. Enter a disease or condition (e.g., depression) in the Search Terms field. Scroll to Age Group and select Child (birth–17). Click on Search to get your results. ClinicalTrials.gov is a service of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
  
  
• Cochrane Reviews. Abstracts for systematic reviews of health care interventions internationally. To access the abstracts of reviews about mental health challenges, go to the box, Search abstracts & summaries. Enter the name of the condition followed by the phrase AND (children OR adolescents), for example: depression AND (children OR adolescents). Click on Search Reviews to get your results. Access to the full-text article requires a subscription that is available in many hospital and university health sciences libraries. The database is published by the Cochrane Collaboration, an international nonprofit organization based in the United Kingdom.
  
  
• MCH Library at the National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health (NCEMCH), Georgetown University. Databases to collect, manage, and disseminate knowledge about MCH, with special emphasis on knowledge gained from initiatives and programs supported by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). The library's bibliographic database is
  
  MCHLine^®. Online catalog of materials in the MCH Library with many items about this topic. Conduct a search in the keyword field of the database search form using the term "mental health" or a specific condition. Also view the bibliographies Mental Health in Primary Care, Child Developmental Screening, and Disasters and Terrorism.
  
  The MCH Library also offers organizations and programs databases.
  
  
• National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth (NCFY) Literature Database. Information about more than 18,000 publications that focus on child and adolescent development and family issues. To identify materials on the topic, enter "mental health" or a specific condition in the Subject Key Word(s) field and a date range (e.g., 2009:2010). Click on Search to get your results.
  
  
• National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC). Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and related materials for health professionals. Identify guidelines about mental health in children and adolescents by selecting Advanced Search. Enter "mental health" in the Keyword field. Scroll down on the search form to select Age of Target Population (e.g., Adolescent, Child, Infant). Hold down the control key (ctrl) or Apple command key and click your mouse to make multiple selections. Click on Show results to get your results. For condition-specific guidelines, select Advanced Search. Enter the name of the condition in the Keyword field (e.g., depression). Scroll down on the search form to select Age of Target Population (e.g., Adolescent, Child, Infant). Hold down the control key (ctrl) or Apple command key and click your mouse to make multiple selections. Click on Show results to get your results. The database is an initiative of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
  
  
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORT): RePORTER. Access to reports, data, and analyses of NIH research activities, including information on NIH expenditures and the results of NIH-supported research. To identify information, enter the name of the condition followed by the word children or the word adolescent in the Term Search field (e.g., depression children). Click on Submit Query to get your results. You'll need to conduct two separate searches for information about both children and adolescents. Narrow your searches by selecting a state or adding terms to other search fields.
  
  
• PubMed. Citations for biomedical articles from MEDLINE and life science journals. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher websites. To identify citations on the topic, enter a term in the search box (e.g., eating disorders). Use the MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) database to identify terms. Refine your search by clicking on Limits and making the following selections on the page: select a date (e.g. Published in the last 2 years); click on Languages: English; click on Ages: All Child; and select Search Field Tags: MeSH Major Topic. Click on Search to get your results. PubMed is a service of the National Library of Medicine (NLM).
  

Programs Databases

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Prevention Research Centers (PRC). Information about research projects conducted by PRCs, which work as an interdependent network of community, academic, and public health partners to conduct prevention research and promote the wide use of practices proven to promote good health. To identify projects, click on Find research project descriptions that meet specified criteria. Select Health Topics: Mental health, and select Age Group: Infants, Children, Adolescents. Click on Search to get your results.
  
  
• Community Pediatrics Grants Database. Information about current and previously funded community-based grant projects. Identify projects by selecting a topic in the Topics field (e.g., ADHD, Behavioral Health, Mental Health, Substance Abuse). Click on Advanced Submit to get your results. The database is a service of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
  
  
• Discretionary Grant Information System (DGIS). Information about grants issued annually by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). Identify grants by selecting Abstracts. Type mental health, or, more specifically, the name of the condition in the Search Word or Phrase field. Click on Exact phrase and Search to get your results. To find products and publications produced by MCHB training grantees, select Program Data, Training, and Search Products and Publications. Type mental health, or, more specifically, the name of the condition in the Search Word or Phrase field. Click on Exact phrase and Search to get your results.
  
  
• Health Services Research Projects in Progress (HSRProj). Information about ongoing health services research and public health projects. To identify projects, click on Advanced Search. Enter (child OR adolescent) AND mental health, or, more specifically, the name of the condition (e.g., (child OR adolescent) AND depression) in the search box. Select a year range, project status, or state or territory and click on Search to get your results. HSRProj is funded by the National Library of Medicine (NLM).
  
  
• MCH Library at the National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health (NCEMCH), Georgetown University. Two databases to identify organizations and programs focusing on children and adolescents with emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges:
  
  MCH Organizations Database. Over 2,000 government, professional, and voluntary organizations involved in MCH activities, primarily at a national level. To identify mental-health-related organizations, type "mental health" in the keyword field of the database search form. Click on Search MCH Organizations to get your results. For condition-specific organizations, search the name of the condition in the keyword field.
  
  MCH Projects Database. An online catalog of projects funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) through October 1, 2004. MCHB funds several projects related to mental health in children and adolescents. To identify them, type "mental health" in the abstract field of the database search form. Click on Search MCH Projects to get your results. For condition-specific projects, search on the name of the condition in the abstract field. See MCHB's Discretionary Grant Information System (DGIS) for information on projects funded after October 1, 2004.
  
  
• National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO): Model Practices. Information about model and promising state and local public health program practices. For effective programs to address mental health in children and adolescents, select Model Practice Database. Enter mental health in the Search by Keyword field. Click on Submit to get your results.
  
  
• National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP). Information about interventions supporting mental health promotion, substance abuse prevention, and mental health and substance abuse treatment. To identify interventions, select Advanced Search. Click on one or more of the search criteria (e.g., Area of Interest, Outcome Categories), and click on Search to get your results. NREPP is a service of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
  

News and Commentary

• National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental Health: Data Matters. This interactive forum presents a new topic for discussion each month, often based on current literature. Visitors can read the article, browse additional resources, review posted comments, post their own comments, and access previous discussions to facilitate increased interaction and discussion about children's mental health. Adolescent transition, the medical home model, and school mental health programs are among the topics covered.
  
  
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): SAMHSA News. This bimonthly newsletter offers news and information about SAMHSA campaigns and initiatives, grants, data, treatment updates, and new publications about substance use and the prevention and treatment of mental health challenges.
  
  
• Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health: TA Partnership Newsletter. This bimonthly electronic newsletter contains current child and family mental health news, research updates, funding opportunities, and event listings. Each issue also contains articles that feature innovative and promising activities from system-of-care communities around the country.
  
  
• Think: Kids. Rethinking Challenging Kids. Presents a set of online discussion forums and a blog to foster communication among professionals and parents about how to understand and help children with behavioral challenges.
  

Resources for Families

• See the MCH Library family resource brief Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Challenges in Kids and Teens.
  

Resources for Schools

• See the MCH Library school resource brief Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Challenges in Children and Adolescents.
  

Resources on Specific Conditions

• MCH Library: MCH Organizations Database. To identify resources about specific conditions, type the name of the condition in the keyword field of the database search form. Click on Search MCH Organizations to get your results. For a more general search of government, professional, and voluntary mental-health-related organizations, type "mental health" in the keyword field of the database search form. Click on Search MCH Organizations to get your results.
  
  
• MedlinePlus: Mental Health and Behavior. Links to information in English and Spanish about a wide range of emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges affecting families. Also see Drugs, Herbs and Supplements to learn about prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines, dietary supplements, and herbal remedies.
  
  
• National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Resources about the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders in children and adolescents including research news, information about clinical trials, and publications in English and Spanish about specific disorders.
  
  
• Also see Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
  

Special Topics

• Early Childhood
• Inappropriate Use of Seclusion and Restraints
• Juvenile Justice
• Military Families
• Parental Depression and Other Mental Health Concerns

Early Childhood

• Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (CECMHC). Online tutorials, self-assessment tools, and resource guides to help Head Start programs build a strong mental health foundation for program staff and enrolled children and families. Includes a tutorial about recognizing and addressing trauma in the early care and education setting, evidence-based strategies for teaching young children with challenging behavior, ideas for promoting social and emotional development in the classroom and at home, and audio clips of relaxation exercises in English and Spanish to promote staff wellness. CECMHC is part of the Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development (GUCCHD). Recent resources include
  
  
  • What Works?: A Study of Effective Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Programs. (2009). [Report, Executive summary, Webinar series].
    
    
• National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC). A collection of resources about early childhood mental health, social-emotional development, and challenging behaviors. Topics include early identification, home visiting, intervention with young children, federal legislation and initiatives, and systems of care and funding for children's mental health services. Includes contact information for state agency staff responsible for implementing the early childhood provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and for Department of Education–funded early childhood projects. NECTAC is the national early childhood technical assistance center supported by the Department of Education (ED).
  
  
• Project LAUNCH. Program information and resources to plan, implement, and evaluate this initiative aimed at improving the systems that serve young children and address their physical, emotional, social, cognitive, and behavioral growth. Mental health consultation, home visiting, developmental screening and assessment, family strengthening, integrating behavioral health into primary care, and substance abuse prevention are addressed. Project LAUNCH, a grant program of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), is administered by the National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention.
  
  
• Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children (TACSEI). Teaching tools, training materials, issue briefs, and research syntheses for early childhood educators, health professionals, administrators, and families about evidence-based practices to address social skills and challenging behavior in young children. The center is funded by the Department of Education.
  
  
• Zero to Three. A wealth of research-based resources to promote early childhood mental health by supporting and strengthening families, communities, and those who work on behalf of infants and children from birth to age 3. Topics include challenging behavior, child maltreatment, impact of trauma, mental health screening and assessment, and building early childhood systems.
  
  
• Lyman DR, Holt W, Dougherty RH. 2010. State Case Studies of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Systems: Strategies for Change. New York, NY: Commonwealth Fund.
  
  
• Also see the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) report, Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Young Children in the Child Welfare System: What Every Policymaker Should Know (2010) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) brief, Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Young Children and Their Families (2010).
  

Inappropriate Use of Seclusion and Restraints

• Alliance to Prevent Restraint, Aversive Interventions and Seclusion (APRAIS). Fact sheets, articles, position papers, and other resources for families, educators, and policymakers about the risks of using aversive interventions, restraints, and seclusion and the benefits of using positive behavior supports to respond to or control the behavior of children and adolescents in schools, treatment programs, and residential facilities. Includes steps parents can take to protect their children from abusive interventions. Led by TASH, APRAIS is composed of members from leading disability advocacy organizations.
  
  
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): Seclusion and Restraint. Action plan, guide, issue briefs, reports, and other resources about promoting alternatives to the use of seclusion and restraint in mental health and behavioral health services.
  
  
• Kutz GD. 2009. Seclusions and Restraints: Selected Cases of Death and Abuse at Public and Private Schools and Treatment Centers. Washington, DC: Government Accountability Office (GAO). This report provides an overview of seclusion and restraint laws applicable to children in public and private schools, reports on allegations of student death and abuse from the use of these methods, and examines the facts and circumstances surrounding cases where a student died or suffered abuse as a result of being secluded or restrained.
  
  
• National Disability Rights Network (NDRN). 2010. School Is Not Supposed to Hurt: Update on Progress in 2009 to Prevent and Reduce Restraint and Seclusion in Schools. Washington, DC: National Disability Rights Network (NDRN). This report updates a 2009 report that identifies the problems attributed to restraint and seclusion of children with disabilities in schools and proposes solutions to their use by highlighting best practices in education and the use of positive behavioral supports.
  
  
• Also see the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) clinical report, Maltreatment of Children with Disabilities (2007).
  
  
• Also see the Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children (TACSEI) issue brief, Preventing the Use of Restraint and Seclusion with Young Children: The Role of Effective, Positive Practices (2011).
  

Juvenile Justice

• National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice (NCMHJJ). Program information, publications, online training curricula, and an electronic discussion group to raise awareness about and improve policies and practices for adolescents with mental health challenges in contact with the juvenile justice system. Initiatives include
  
  Models for Change: Systems Reform in Juvenile Justice. Information about this initiative to create successful and replicable models of juvenile-justice-system reform. Mental health and substance abuse are among the issues addressed.
  
  
• National Conference of States Legislatures (NCSL): Juvenile Justice Bill Tracking Database. Database of state legislation related to juvenile justice. Topics include mental health and substance abuse.
  
  
• See the MCH Library knowledge path Adolescent Violence Prevention.
  

Military Families

• National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN): Military Children and Families. Resources for families, educators, and health and social services professionals about family functioning and support and stressors related to relocation, parental separation during deployment, family reunification and reintegration, and traumatic grief.
  
  
• National Military Family Association (NMFA): Mental Health Care. Information and resources about military deployment and its effect on the mental health of military family members and on the well being of children. Includes toolkits for adults who work with children and adolescents whose parents are in the military. Also includes information about accessing mental health care in TRICARE, the Department of Defense worldwide health care program for uniformed service members, retirees, and their families and survivors.
  
  
• Zero to Three: Coming Together Around Military Families. Information and resources for professionals and families about the needs of infants and children from birth to age 3 whose parents are experiencing military deployment, reunification, and relocation.
  
  
• See the federal interagency policy committee report, Strengthening Our Military Families: Meeting America’s Commitment (2011).
  
  
• Also see the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) brief, Trauma Faced by Children of Military Families: What Every Policymaker Should Know (2010).
  

Parental Depression and Other Mental Health Concerns

• See the MCH Library knowledge path Depression During and After Pregnancy.
  
  
• Mental Health America (MHA): Strengthening Families. A series of fact sheets about parents who have mental health conditions.
  
  
• National Association for Children of Alcoholics (NACoA). Resources for health and social services professionals, educators, clergy, and families about children and adolescents affected by parental alcohol and drug addiction.
  
  
• National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW). Online training tutorials, literature reviews, reports, federal and state policy tools and legislation, and other resources for health, social services, and court professionals and legislators about systems and practice for families with substance use disorders who are involved in the child welfare and family judicial systems. Topics include families with substance use, mental health conditions, and co-occurring disorders. NCSACW is a service of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
  
  
• Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. 2009. Maternal Depression Can Undermine the Development of Young Children. Cambridge, MA: Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. [Working paper].
  
  
• England MJ, Sim LJ, eds. 2009. Depression in Parents, Parenting, and Children: Opportunities to Improve Identification, Treatment, and Prevention. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. [Report, executive summary].
  
  
• Santoro K, Peabody H. 2010. Identifying and Treating Maternal Depression: Strategies and Considerations for Health Plans. Washington, DC: National Institute for Health Care Management Research and Educational Foundation. [Issue brief].
  
  
• See the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA) data briefs, Children Living with Substance-Dependent or Substance-Abusing Parents: 2002 to 2007 (2009) and Substance Use Among Young Mothers (2011).
  

Related MCH Library Resources

• Adolescent Violence Prevention knowledge path (Includes Violent Crime Victims section), family resource brief, school resource brief
• Autism Spectrum Disorders knowledge path, family resource brief, school resource brief
• Bullying resource brief
• Child Maltreatment resource brief
• Children and Adolescents with Special Health Care Needs knowledge path, family resource brief, school resource brief
• Community Services Locator: An Online Directory for Finding Community Services for Children and Families knowledge path
• Domestic Violence knowledge path (Includes resources about children exposed to domestic violence; dating violence among adolescents; and violence between gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender partners) family resource brief
• Medications resource brief
• Reaching Out to Children and Youth Following Disasters resource brief
• Screening resource brief
• Sleep in Infants, Children, Adolescents, and Pregnant Women knowledge path, family resource brief, school resource brief
• Social and Emotional Development in Children and Adolescents knowledge path, family resource brief, school resource brief
• Suicide Prevention resource brief
• Tobacco, Alcohol, and Substance Use in Children and Adolescents resource brief
  

Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Challenges in Children and Adolescents: Knowledge Path, 3rd ed. (July 2011). (Updated: October 2011).
Author: Susan Brune Lorenzo, M.L.S., MCH Library.
Reviewers: Lauren Agoratus, M.A., Family Voices and Family-to-Family Health Information Resource Center at the Statewide Parent Advocacy Network of N.J.; Olivia Pickett, M.A., M.L.S., MCH Library; Judi Siegel, L.I.C.S.W., Children's Hospital Boston; Sandy Swan, M.L.S., M.P.H., C.H.I.S., Phil Johnson Historic Archives and Research Library.
Editor: Ruth Barzel, M.A., MCH Library.