Transforming mental health care for children and their families.

In April 2002, the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health was created by executive order to study the mental health care delivery system in our nation and to make recommendations for improvements so that individuals with serious mental disorders can live, work, learn, and fully participate in their homes and communities. In its report, "Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America," the commission provided strategies to address critical infrastructure, practice, and research issues. This article focuses on the work of the commission's Subcommittee on Children and Families, describing its vision for mental health service delivery for children and providing suggestions for strengthening community-based care for youths with or at risk of behavioral health disorders.

The integration of research and practice in the prevention of youth problem behaviors.

The prevention of youth problem behaviors is increasingly guided by science. Sound epidemiological research is coming to guide preventive efforts. Valid methods of monitoring the incidence and prevalence of youth problems increasingly shape preventive practice.