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CHILDREN ON CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICE CASELOADS: PREVALENCE AND NATURE OF SERIOUS EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE

NCJ Number
143511
Journal
Child Abuse and Neglect Volume: 17 Issue: 3 Dated: (May/June 1993) Pages: 345-355
Author(s)
E W Trupin; V S Tarico; B P Low; R Jemelka; J McClellan
Date Published
1993
Length
11 pages
Annotation
A multivariate, criterion-referenced approach was used to assess the prevalence of serious emotional disturbance among children on protective service caseloads.
Abstract
The subjects were 191 randomly selected children currently receiving services from Child Protection Services. Subjects were drawn from a randomly ordered listing of 1,640 children meeting these criteria. The survey tool was an op- scan formatted questionnaire entitled "Child Mental Health Survey." The five sections of the instrument covered the surveyed child's background, mental health treatment history, current adjustment, exposure to environmental "risk factors," handicapping conditions, and mental health/social service needs. Respondents included child protection caseworkers, other social workers, and facility counselors, dependent on who best knew the surveyed child. Of 140 recipients of protective services, 72 percent were statistically indistinguishable from children in Washington State's most intensive mental health treatment programs. School problems, substance abuse, and antisocial behaviors were common in the sample, as were family histories of mental illness or substance abuse. Greatest service needs included family support groups, outpatient treatment, school-based treatment, and diagnostic services. These findings indicate the importance of structural changes to facilitate cross-system collaboration between mental health and protective services. 2 tables and 36 references