Youth Crisis: The Current State and Future Directions.

The number of children and youth experiencing behavioral health crisis in the United States is substantially increasing. Currently, there are shortages to home-based and community-based services as well as psychiatric outpatient and inpatient pediatric care, leading to high emergency department utilization. This article introduces a proposed crisis continuum of care, highlights existing evidence, and provides opportunities for further research and advocacy.

Evaluation of a systems-level technical assistance program to support youth with complex behavioral health needs.

The National Technical Assistance Network for Children's Behavioral Health (TA Network) supports the development and implementation of Systems of Care (SOC) for youth with serious emotional disorders and their families in states, tribes, territories, and communities throughout the United States. The purpose of the current research was to conduct an evaluation of the TA Network to assess: The degree to which it has deployed research-based elements of TA; levels of participant satisfaction; types and scope of TA services provided; and systems-level outcomes. Study participants were drawn from a stratified random sample of SOC grant recipients who received technical support from the TA Network between 2013 and 2017.

Manuscript: Defining Quality Standards for Intensive Home Based Treatment Programs for Youth with Serious Emotional Disorders.

Intensive Home Based Treatment (IHBT) is a critical component of the continuum of community-based behavioral healthcare for youth with serious emotional disorder (SED) and their families. Yet despite being used nationwide at costs of over $100 million annually in some states, a well-vetted, research-based set of quality standards for IHBT has yet to be developed. The current project aimed to define program and practice standards for IHBT, drawing upon literature review, expert interviews, and a systematic Delphi process engaging over 80 participants, including IHBT developers, experts in evidence-based youth mental health, youth and family advocates, IHBT providers, and state policymakers.

Developing an Evidence-Based Technical Assistance Model: a Process Evaluation of the National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Child, Youth, and Family Mental Health.

The National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Child, Youth, and Family Mental Health (NTTAC) supports the development and implementation of systems of care (SOC) for youth with serious emotional disorders (SED) and their families. This article presents results from a process evaluation of NTTAC, conducted to support the Center's quality improvement and contribute to the knowledge base around provision of technical assistance (TA). The evaluation used a mixed methods approach with data collection focused on a defined subset of NTTAC TA recipients-recipients of federal Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children SOC grants.

Intervening in the lives of youth with complex behavioral health challenges and their families: the role of the wraparound process.

Wraparound is an individualized, team-based service planning and care coordination process intended to improve outcomes for youth with complex behavioral health challenges and their families. In recent years, several factors have led wraparound to become an increasingly visible component of service systems for youth, including its alignment with the youth and family movements, clear role within the systems of care and public health frameworks, and expansion of the research base. In this paper, we provide a review of the place of the wraparound process in behavioral health, including a discussion of the opportunities it presents to the field, needs for further development and research, and recommendations for federal actions that have the potential to improve the model's positive contribution to child and family well-being.