Implementing a Child Mental Health Intervention in Child Welfare Services: Stakeholder Perspectives on Feasibility.

This pilot study integrated quantitative and qualitative data to examine the feasibility of implementing a modified version of a multiple family group behavioral parent training intervention (The 4Rs and 2Ss for Strengthening Families Program [4Rs and 2Ss]) in child welfare (CW) placement prevention services, from the perspectives of participating caregivers ( = 12) and CW staff ( = 12; i.e., 6 caseworkers, 4 supervisors, and 2 administrators).

An Examination of the 4 Rs 2 Ss for Problem Behaviors: A Preventive Approach.

Early treatment of behavioral problems can prevent their progression into intractable disorders. This study examined the impact of a multiple family group (MFG) intervention for children with behavior symptoms and their families. Fifty-four ( = 54) caregiver/child dyads with sub-clinical levels of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) participated in a 16-week MFG.

Absorptive capacity in child welfare: A qualitative study with child welfare staff eliciting key factors for evidence-based practice adoption.

Child Welfare (CW) provides an array of services to meet the needs of families, requiring agencies to be malleable in their ability to absorb new practices. Absorptive capacity (ACAP) refers to the routines and processes in which an organization acquires, assimilates, and applies new knowledge. ACAP has yet to be the focus of implementation research in CW settings.

Caregiver-relevant perspectives from a multi-stakeholder collaborative advisory board on adapting a child mental health intervention to be delivered in child-welfare settings.

Adapting evidence based mental health interventions (EBI) to be provided in child welfare (CW) settings by CW workers could reduce barriers to families receiving mental health care. In order to promote implementation success, the adaptation of EBIs should include the perspectives of those who deliver and those who receive the EBI. The following study uses qualitative methods to elicit and analyze caregiver-relevant perspectives and adaption recommendations from CW stakeholders about the 4Rs and 2Ss Strengthening Families Program, an EBI for youth disruptive behavior disorders, to be implemented in CW settings.

Partnering for Success: Factors Impacting Implementation of a Cross-Systems Collaborative model Between Behavioral Health and Child Welfare.

Cross-system implementation efforts can support needed mental health (MH) service utilization among children involved in the child welfare (CW) system. The Partnering for Success (PfS) initiative is one such effort that promotes greater collaboration between the CW and MH providers by building capacity within and across each system. Frontline CW providers learn to accurately identify child MH treatment targets, link families to locally-provided evidence-based treatments (EBTs), and monitor treatment progress.

Scaling up evidence-based treatments in youth behavioral healthcare: Social work licensing influences on task-shifting opportunities.

Youth behavioral healthcare workforce shortages have inhibited the scale-up of evidence-based treatments to address longstanding unmet needs andinequitable service coverage. Task-shifting is a strategy that could bolster workforce shortages. Legal and regulatory barriers, such as scope of practice licensing regulations, have hampered the use of task-shifting.

Skills for Developing and Maintaining Community-Partnerships for Dissemination and Implementation Research in Children's Behavioral Health: Implications for Research Infrastructure and Training of Early Career Investigators.

By engaging with community partners, dissemination and implementation scholars can enhance research relevance and translation. We illustrate the skills needed for developing and maintaining community partnerships by presenting two case studies of partnerships between early-career investigators and child welfare systems to implement mental health interventions. The cases represent two models of partnership (investigator-led and agency-led), highlighting the value and difficulty of conducting community-engaged implementation research.

Perceptions Among Child Welfare Staff when Modifying A Child Mental Health Intervention to be Implemented in Child Welfare Services.

In order to increase access to child mental health evidence-based interventions (EBIs) for vulnerable and hard-to-engage families involved in the child welfare (CW) system, innovative approaches coupled with input from service providers are needed. One potential solution involves utilizing task-shifting strategies and implementation science theoretical frameworks to implement such EBIs in CW settings. This study examined perceptions among CW staff who were members of a collaborative advisory board involved in the implementation of the 4Rs and 2Ss Strengthening Families Program (4R2S) in CW placement prevention settings, utilizing task-shifting strategies and the Practical, Robust, Implementation, and Sustainability Model.

Barriers to Service Utilization and Child Mental Health Treatment Attendance Among Poverty-Affected Families.

Objective: The majority of children who initially engage in mental health treatment in the United States drop out prematurely, a problem further exacerbated among children living in poverty. This study examined the relationships between sociodemographic characteristics, barriers to treatment use, and session attendance.

Methods: Data were obtained from participants (N=225) in the 4R2S field trial.

Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy with Frontal Executive Dysfunction is Associated with Reduced Gray Matter Volume by Voxel-based Morphometry.

Objective: Frontal executive dysfunction (FED) and abnormalities in volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been described in juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). We aimed to compare JME patients with and without FED by group analysis of voxel-based morphometric (VBM) estimates of brain volume in MRI.

Subjects And Methods: We studied frontal executive functions in patients with JME and analyzed the possible association of FED with their demographic, clinical, and electrographic characteristics.

Peer-Delivered Models for Caregivers of Children and Adults with Health Conditions: A Review.

Peer-delivered health models may hold important benefits for family members, yet their prevalence, components, and outcomes are unknown. We conducted a review of peer-delivered services for families of children and adults with serious health problems. Studies of interventions published between 2000 and 2016 were included if the intervention contained a component for family members.

Utilization of peers in services for youth with emotional and behavioral challenges: A scoping review.

This scoping review synthesizes published and unpublished information on Youth Peer Support Services (YPSS), where young adults with current or prior mental health challenges provide support services to other youth and young adults currently struggling with similar difficulties. Existing published and unpublished "grey" literature were reviewed, yielding 30 programs included for data extraction and qualitative syntheses using a descriptive analytic framework. Findings identify variations in service delivery structures, program goals, host service systems, peer roles, core competencies, training and supervision needs, outcomes for youth and young adult consumers, as well as organizational readiness needs to integrate YPSS.

The intersection of extreme poverty and familial mental health in the United States.

Approximately 22% of children in the United States live in poverty, with high rates of caregiver depression and child disruptive behavior disorders (DBD). The current study aims to explore the relationships between living in extreme poverty and both child and parent mental health. Data are comprised of findings from the first effectiveness study of the 4Rs and 2Ss intervention, in addition to preliminary data from an implementation study currently underway ( = 484).

Validation of the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form With Minority Caregivers.

Objectives: There has been little examination of the structural validity of the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (PSI-SF) for minority populations in clinical contexts in the Unites States. This study aimed to test prespecified factor structures (one-factor, two-factor, and three-factor models) of the PSI-SF.

Methods: This study used confirmatory factor analysis in a sample of 240 predominantly Black and Latino caregivers of children with behavioral difficulties.

Feasibility of improving child behavioral health using task-shifting to implement the 4Rs and 2Ss program for strengthening families in child welfare.

Background: Children whose families are involved with child welfare services manifest disproportionately high levels of behavioral difficulties, which could be addressed in community-based organizations providing services to prevent out-of-home placement. Unfortunately, few evidence based practices have been successfully implemented in child welfare settings, especially those originally delivered by mental health providers. Given that such settings typically employ caseworkers who lack prior mental health training, this is a significant barrier to implementation.

Multiple Family Groups for Child Behavior Difficulties Retention Among Child Welfare-Involved Caregivers.

Unlabelled: Among children who remain at home with their permanent caregivers following a child welfare investigation, few who manifest emotional and behavioral difficulties actually engage in mental health treatment. The Multiple Family Group service delivery model to reduce childhood disruptive behavior disorders (MFG) has shown promise in engaging child welfare-involved families. This qualitative study examines caregiver perceptions of factors that influence retention in MFGs among child welfare-involved families.

Meeting the complex needs of urban youth and their families through the 4Rs 2Ss Family Strengthening Program: The "real world" meets evidence-informed care.

Youth living in poverty face compounding familial and environmental challenges in utilizing effective community mental health services. They have ongoing stressors that increase their dropout rate in mental health service use. Difficulties also exist in staying engaged in services when they are involved with the child welfare system.

Depression and Service Use Among Caregivers Dually Involved in the Child Welfare and Mental Health Systems.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of depression, use of mental health services, and correlates of service use among caregivers who are dually involved in the child welfare and child mental health systems.

Methods: This study analyzed baseline data from 129 caregivers who reported child welfare system involvement and were participating in a Multiple Family Group service delivery model to reduce childhood disruptive behavior disorders.

Results: Seventy-eight (60.

Multiple Family Group Service Model for Children With Disruptive Behavior Disorders: Child Outcomes at Post-Treatment.

The purpose of this study was to determine the benefits of a multiple family group (MFG) service delivery model compared with services as usual (SAU) in improving the functioning of youth with oppositional defiant/conduct disorder in families residing in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. Participants included 320 youth aged 7 to 11 and their families who were referred to participating outpatient clinics. Participants were assigned to the MFG or the SAU condition, with parent report of child oppositional behavior, social competence, and level of youth impairment as primary outcomes at post-treatment.

Multiple Family Groups to reduce child disruptive behavior difficulties: moderating effects of child welfare status on child outcomes.

Children who remain at home with their permanent caregivers following a child welfare (CW) involvement (e.g., investigation, out-of-home placement) manifest high rates of behavioral difficulties, which is a risk factor for further maltreatment and out-of-home placement if not treated effectively.

Statewide implementation of the 4 Rs and 2 Ss for strengthening families.

Embedding evidence-informed practices for children with mental health needs into "real-world" community settings has proven challenging. In this article, we discuss how the Practical, Robust, Implementation, and Sustainability Model (PRISM) guided statewide (New York) implementation of an evidence-informed intervention targeting families and youth with oppositional defiant and conduct disorders, collectively referred to as disruptive behavior disorders. Additionally, we present qualitative findings based on provider reports of integrating a novel, evidence-informed intervention within their respective community mental health settings.