Assessment of the Smoke Free Families Tobacco Screening, Counseling, and Referral Program in Pediatric Primary Care Practices.

Objective: The Smoke Free Families (SFF) program trained pediatric providers to use an SFF tool during well-child visits (WCVs) of infants ≤12 months to "Ask" caregivers about tobacco use, "Advise" smokers to quit, and "Refer" smokers to cessation services (AAR). The primary objectives were to assess the prevalence and changes in caregiver tobacco use after being screened and counseled by providers using the SFF tool. A secondary objective was to examine providers' AAR behavior facilitated by using the SFF tool.

Implementation and Mental Health Outcomes of a Service Cascade Linking Child Welfare and Children's Mental Health Systems: A Case Study of the Gateway CALL Demonstration.

The mental health needs of children and youth involved in the child welfare system remain largely unmet. Service cascades are an emerging approach to systematizing mental health screening, assessment, and treatment referral processes. However, evidence is minimal and inconsistent regarding the effectiveness of such approaches for improving mental health service access and outcomes.

Neighborhood market potentials for alcohol use and rates of child abuse and neglect.

Background: Alcohol use can lead to child abuse and neglect even if the person using alcohol does not use heavily. Yet relatively few measures that reflect alcohol use are available at smaller geographic units. We assess whether the estimated level of total alcohol use per capita is related to measures of child abuse and neglect that include substantiated reports of maltreatment, total entries into foster care, and alcohol-related entries into foster care.

Does mental health screening and assessment in child welfare improve mental health service receipt, child safety, and permanence for children in out-of-home care? An evaluation of the Gateway CALL demonstration.

Background: Unmet mental health service needs among children in out-of-home care are sometimes attributed to poor assessments and referrals in child welfare. The Gateway CALL project implemented mental health screening, diagnostic assessment, and referral to treatment practices.

Objective: We examined the effectiveness of Gateway CALL for improving children's mental health service receipt, safety, and permanency outcomes.

Availability of medical cannabis dispensaries and cannabis abuse/dependence-related hospitalizations in California.

Aims: To estimate associations between both current- and prior-year medical cannabis dispensary densities and hospitalizations for cannabis use disorder in California, USA between 2013 and 2016.

Design: Spatial analysis of ZIP code-level hospitalization discharge data using Bayesian Poisson hierarchical space-time models over 4 years.

Setting And Cases: California, USA from 2013 to 2016 (6832 space-time ZIP code units).

Opioid Misuse and the Availability of Medical Marijuana Through Dispensaries.

Objective: In this study we assess whether changes in ZIP code-level density of medical marijuana facilities are related to changes in rates of opioid poisonings and opioid use disorder hospitalizations in California.

Method: A panel study using California hospital discharge data was conducted to assess the relationship between density of medical marijuana dispensaries and opioid poisonings and use disorder. There were 8,536 space-time units at the ZIP code level.

Medical Marijuana Dispensaries and Referrals for Child Maltreatment Investigations.

The changing legal status of marijuana in the United States has increased access to the drug through medical marijuana dispensaries. Limited research exists that examines the effects of these dispensaries on social problems including child maltreatment. The current study examines how medical marijuana dispensaries may affect referrals for child abuse and neglect investigations.