Healthy mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) development is a critical foundation for a productive adulthood. Much is known about strategies to support families and communities in strengthening the MEB development of children and youth, by promoting healthy development and also by preventing and mitigating disorder, so that young people reach adulthood ready to thrive and contribute to society. Over the last decade, a growing body of research has significantly strengthened understanding of healthy MEB development and the factors that influence it, as well as how it can be fostered. Yet, the United States has not taken full advantage of this growing knowledge base. Ten years later, the nation still is not effectively mitigating risks for poor MEB health outcomes; these risks remain prevalent, and available data show no significant reductions in their prevalence. Fostering Healthy Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Development in Children and Youth: A National Agenda examines the gap between current research and achievable national goals for the next ten years. This report identifies the complexities of childhood influences and highlights the need for a tailored approach when implementing new policies and practices. This report provides a framework for a cohesive, multidisciplinary national approach to improving MEB health.

The legal aspects of child mental health have changed in recent years, yet many who deal professionally with disturbed children are ill informed about the rights and responsibilities of minors. Child Mental Health and the Law addresses the need for a comprehensive, up-to-date text that describes the evolution of child mental health law and the relevance of the law to the child mental health clinician.

"Highly recommended for expert and beginner alike. It is well written, well organized, easy to read, and packed with useful information." -- Child Abuse & Neglect "This book represents a milestone in expanding the resource base for professionals working in the child abuse field." -- Journal of Child and Family Studies

This guide was created to promote the early identification of children and adolescents with mental health and substance use problems as well as to provide guidance, tools, and resources for early identification--including a compendium of the most developmentally, culturally, and environmentally appropriate screening instruments. SAMHSA developed the guide using the input of the members of the Federal/National Partnership* (FNP) Early Identification Workgroup, chaired by representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Now is a crucial time for child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). They have to integrate with all the other contemporary children's initiatives and develop in line with the Children's National Service Framework. This book aims to tell how to do just that.

In recent decades, advances in biomedical research have helped save or lengthen the lives of children around the world. With improved therapies, child and adolescent mortality rates have decreased significantly in the last half century. Despite these advances, pediatricians and others argue that children have not shared equally with adults in biomedical advances. Even though we want children to benefit from the dramatic and accelerating rate of progress in medical care that has been fueled by scientific research, we do not want to place children at risk of being harmed by participating in clinical studies. Ethical Conduct of Clinical Research Involving Children considers the necessities and challenges of this type of research and reviews the ethical and legal standards for conducting it. It also considers problems with the interpretation and application of these standards and conduct, concluding that while children should not be excluded from potentially beneficial clinical studies, some research that is ethically permissible for adults is not acceptable for children, who usually do not have the legal capacity or maturity to make informed decisions about research participation. The book looks at the need for appropriate pediatric expertise at all stages of the design, review, and conduct of a research project to effectively implement policies to protect children. It argues persuasively that a robust system for protecting human research participants in general is a necessary foundation for protecting child research participants in particular.

When care of younger patients raises thorny legal questions, you need answers you can trust: that's why this book belongs on every clinician's reference shelf. Principles and Practice of Child and Adolescent Forensic Mental Health is a timely and authoritative source that covers issues ranging from child custody to litigation concerns as it walks clinicians through the often-confusing field of depositions and courtroom testimony. The book expands on the 2002 volume Principles and Practice of Child and Adolescent Forensic Psychiatry winner of the 2003 Manfred S. Guttmacher Award, to meet pressing twenty-first-century concerns, from telepsychiatry to the Internet, while continuing to cover basic issues, such as forensic evaluation, psychological screening, and the interviewing of children for suspected sexual abuse, that are important to both new and experienced practitioners. Many of its chapters have been entirely rewritten by new authors to provide fresh insight into such topics as child custody; juvenile law; abuse, neglect, and permanent wardship cases; transcultural, transracial, and gay/lesbian parenting and adoption; and the reliability and suggestibility of children's statements. It also includes significant material not found in the previous volume: Two chapters on special education offer an introduction to screening instruments and help practitioners determine a child's potential need for special education programs and services. A chapter on cultural competence helps readers improve the accuracy and responsiveness of forensic evaluations and minimize the chance of an unjust outcome resulting from misguided expert opinion. The section on youth violence features three new chapters -- Taxonomy and Neurobiology of Aggression, Prevention of School Violence, and Juvenile Stalkers -- plus a newly written chapter on assessment of violence risk, offering guidance on how to confront problems such as bullying and initiate effective family interventions. A chapter on psychiatric malpractice and professional liability addresses these legal concerns with an eye toward cases involving minors. A chapter on psychological autopsy covers evaluation of the circumstances surrounding pediatric suicides, describing various types of equivocal deaths and discussing legal issues such as admissibility of the autopsy in court. A newly written chapter on the Internet expands the previous book's focus on child pornography to help practitioners deal with issues ranging from online threats to emotional and legal consequences of interactions in cyberspace. This is a valuable reference not only for practitioners in psychiatry and the mental health field but also for attorneys and judges. It opens up a field that may be too often avoided and helps professionals make their way through legal thickets with confidence.