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Assessing the Needs of Children

Resources to assist professionals in assessing the mental health needs of children.

AACAP/CWLA Policy Statement on Mental Health and Use of Alcohol and Other Drugs, Screening and Assessment of Children in Foster Care
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (2003)
Outlines recommended procedures for providing substance abuse screening and mental health treatment to children in foster care.

Assessing Children's Mental Health: Validity Across Cultural Groups
Portland State University Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children's Mental Health (2006)
Examines the equivalence of the Behavior Problem Index across a sample of African-American, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White children drawn from the 1998 mother-child data file of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

Caring for Every Child's Mental Health Campaign
National Mental Health Information Center
Helps families, educators, health care providers, and young people recognize mental health problems and to seek or recommend appropriate services.

Children's Mental Health Resource Kit
Children's Defense Fund (2003)
Contains a number of fact sheets that address strategies for promoting access for children to mental health screens and assessments.

Developmental Assessment of the Internationally Adopted Child: Challenges and Rewards
Weitzman
Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 8, 2003
View Abstract
Focuses on key elements and challenges of the developmental evaluation of the internationally adopted child. Includes information on reviewing the pre-adoptive medical record and/or video, interviewing adoptive parents, and performing comprehensive assessments of newly arrived adoptees.

Helping Children Who Reside at Shelters for Battered Women: Lessons Learned
Stephens, McDonald, & Jouriles
Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma, 3, 2000
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Discusses the need for mental health services for children living in shelters for women who have suffered abuse. Includes information on types of services, timing of delivery, and the need for a careful evaluation of all shelter-based services for children.

Mental Health Screening Tool (MHST): 5 Years to Adult - Foster Care Mental Health Screening Tool (PDF - 48 KB)
California Institute for Mental Health
Provides a brief tool intended for non-mental health professionals screening children and youth ages 5 and up who are being considered for out-of-home placement.

Updated on March 1, 2010