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Minority Severely Emotionally Disturbed Child: Considerations for Special Education and Mental Health Services

NCJ Number
124937
Author(s)
B J Bazron
Date Published
1989
Length
86 pages
Annotation
Interagency and interdisciplinary planning are needed to meet the needs of minority emotionally disturbed children in public schools and their parents. Specific strategies for addressing issues of program development and service delivery system, funding, research, education and training, and policy development and advocacy are outlined.
Abstract
Many areas of the country, some of which have significant minority populations, lack programs addressing the needs of minority emotionally disturbed children. Despite mechanisms for funding special education and mental health programs, limitations posed by legislation and an absence of jointly-funded programs contribute to poor service delivery. When developing programs for this population, several factors must be considered: the importance of case management and linkages between community resources, cultural sensitivity, minority staffing, accessibility of services, and parental involvement. Specifically, the report's recommendations for program development include development of a vehicle to refer children from one system to another, information dissemination about model programs, development of a "best practices" document, State and local coordination of special education and mental health services, interagency and interdisciplinary collaboration, development of a consultant pool, inclusion of a multicultural education component, review of current legislation, and a survey to identify key minority special education and mental health professionals. 7 appendixes.