CASSP Alerts
CASSP is the Child and Adolescent Services System Program. The CASSP Alert is published 10 times a year by the Department of Public Welfare’s Bureau of Children’s Behavioral Health Services and includes news about current policy and program development, new resources in children’s behavioral health, and a calendar of upcoming conferences and trainings. Access the archives of back issues or join the listserv to receive notification of when new issues have been posted.
CASSP Newsletters
CASSP is the Children and Adolescent Services System Program. The PA CASSP Newsletter is published four times a year by the Department of Public Welfare’s Bureau of Children’s Behavioral Health Services. Each edition is on a different topic in children’s behavioral health. Access the archives of back issues or join the listserv to receive notification of when new issues have been posted.
County CASSP and Children's Mental
Health Coordinators (listing current 04/19/13)
The Delaware County Suicide Prevention & Awareness Task Force (DCSPATF) was begun in 2002 by volunteers who care and who want to increase suicide awareness, decrease stigma, and decrease suicide risk in the community. Our mission is to promote understanding that suicide is a preventable community-health problem in our county and to work together toward viable solutions.
Friendship Express
The Friendship Express is the newsletter of the Pennsylvania Compeer
Association, published quarterly. This publication is made possible
by a collaboration between the Pennsylvania Compeer Coalition
and the Pennsylvania Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Services. Links to issues are available under "Compeer"
on the Other Statewide Initiatives
page of this web site.
The Insitute for Recovery and Community Integration
The institute sends out a quarterly
email newsletter to our registered users with updates on our
activities, training programs, library listings, forum activities,
and other news. You can view the newsletters on this page or register
to receive them via email.
PeopleFirst
People First is a publication supported by the Department of
Public Welfare and compiled by the Mental Health Association of
Southeastern Pennsylvania. Recent issues are linked below.
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Adult
Publications
A Call For Change: Toward a Recovery-Oriented Service System for Adults
A Plan for Promoting Housing and Recovery-Oriented Services
Hope for Pennsylvanians: Healthy Planning to Stay Calm in an Emergency and How to cope Following Disasters and Emergencies
OMHSAS Strategic Plan for Cultural Competence, Second Edition
Recommended Clinical/Rehabilitation Standards of Practice for Culturally Compentent Services in Pennsylvania
Older Adult Publications
Behavioral Health and Aging Resource Manual
The Resource Manual Workgroup of the Older Adult Advisory Committee is pleased to announce that the Behavioral Health and Aging Resource Manual is now available. The manual is not meant to diagnose disorders or recommend treatment. The intent of this manual is to provide information regarding the common behavioral health issues of older adults. Please select the link above to access the manual.
Older Adults: Share the Care
Memorandum of Understanding Writing Guide between the Pennsylvania Department of Aging and the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment.
Memorandum of Understanding between Pennsylvania Department of Aging, Office of Long Term Living, and Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
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Children's
Publications
Innovations in Children’s Behavioral Health Series
The purpose of this series is to share current research in children’s behavioral health services and treatment, and improve practice. Papers will reflect evidence-based and promising practices as well as the core principles of Pennsylvania’s Child and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP).
A
Mental Health Practitioner's Guide to Positive Behavior Support
for Children With Disabilities and Problem Behavior at School.
2001. Timothy P. Knoster, EdD.
Effective
Family Based Mental Health Services for Youth With Serious Emotional
Disturbance in Pennsylvania: The Ecosystemic Structural Family
Therapy Model. 2004. Marion Lindblad-Goldberg, PhD,
C. Wayne Jones, PhD, and Martha Dore, PhD.
Evidence-Based
Treatment: What It Is and How It Can Help Children.
2005. Paul W. Kettlewell, Marolyn E. Morford, and Heather V. A.
Hoover.
Family
Resilience: Surviving and Thriving. 2003. Diana
T. Marsh, PhD.
Fostering
Resilience: A Strengths-Based Approach to
Mental Health. 2003. Douglas J. Coatsworth, PhD,
and Larissa Duncan, BS.
Guidelines
for Best Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services.
Updated, 2007. Department of Public Welfare, OMHSAS.
How
to Think, Not What to Think: A Cognitive Approach to Prevention
of Early High-Risk Behaviors in Children. 1997.
Myrna B. Shure, PhD.
Making the Best Choice: Service Selection in Children's Mental Health. 2004. Gordon R. Hodas, M.D.
PolicyLab: Center to Bridge Research, Practice and Policy, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia: Develops evidence-based solutions for the most challenging health-related issues affecting children; bridges the gap between academic communities and the real world by engaging in research that is both responsive to community needs and relevant to policy priorities.
Evidence to Action Brief, Fall 2010: “Meeting the Mental Health Needs of Children”
Psychotropic Medication and CASSP Principles. 2011. Gordon R. Hodas, MD.
Preventing
Mental Disorders in School Age Children: A Review of the Effectiveness
of Prevention Programs. 2000. Mark T Greenberg,
PhD, Celene Domitrovich, PhD, and Brian Bumbarger.
Preventing
Youth Suicide: Risk Factors, Implications, and Strategies.
2003. Mary Margaret Kerr, EdD and Emily K. Traupman.
School-wide
Positive Behavior Support: Preventing the Escalation of Antisocial
Behavior in Schools. 2006. Barry McCurdy, PhD, and
Kristin Sawka, PhD.
Services
for Transition Age Youth: How Two Counties Implemented Pilot
Project Funding. 2006. Susan Schoolfield.
To
Walk in Troubling Shoes: Another Way to Think About the Challenging
Behavior of Children and Adolescents. 2000. Bernie
Fabry, PhD.
Unraveling the Mystery of Pediatric Bipolar Disorder. 2009. Gordon Hodas, MD
Working with Children and Adolescents Who Are Defiant: Unconditional Respect Comes First. 2009 Gordon Hodas, MD
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Additional Children's
Publications and Resources
New!Treatment of Children with Mental Illness: Frequently asked questions about the treatment of mental illness in children. From the Nativonal Institute of Mental Health, this fact sheet addresses common questions about diagnosis and treatment options for children with mental illnesses. Disorders affecting children may include anxiety disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorders, bipolar disorder, depression, eating disorders, and schizophrenia.
Department of Public Welfare Child and Adolescent Medication Workgroup Report, January 2012. The reports addresses various issues related to the use of psychotropic medication for children, identifies best practices, and offers recommendations related to clinically-based prescribing practices and policy-based prescribing practices.
Act 147, passed by the Pennsylvania legislature in 2005, gives parents the ability to provide consent for treatment for their children ages 14-17. Two resources provide an analysis of the provisions of the act:
An Employer’s Guide to Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Published in 2009 by the National Business Group on Health. Contains recommendations for the workplace, health plans and Employee Assistance Programs.
Emotional, Behavioral, and Mental Health Challenges in Children and Adolescents Knowledge Path: July 2011. Compiled by the Maternal and Child Health Library at Georgetown University. Directs readers to a selection of current, high-quality resources that analyze data, describe effective programs, and report on policy and research aimed at improving access to and quality of care for children and adolescents with emotional, behavioral, and mental health challenges. Separate briefs present resources for families and schools.
New York University Child Study Center: Founded to improve the treatment of child psychiatric disorders through scientific practice, research, and education, and to eliminate the stigma of being or having a child with a psychiatric disorder. Includes a wealth of information for families.
Project Resilience: Promotes a strengths-based approach to youth and adults struggling to overcome hardship, for instance family disruption, poverty, violence, substance abuse, and racism. Trains clinicians, educators, and prevention specialists throughout the USA and Canada.
Resiliency Resource Centre: A project of the Mental Health Foundation of Australia, the Embrace the Future Resiliency Resource Centre is a web site for teachers, parents and other people who work with or care for children. It provides information about resiliency and how to foster it in children. There is also a very cool companion web site for children, Resilient Kids.
Responding to Youth with Mental Health Needs: Implementation manual on Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) for youth from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Aims to improve interactions between youth and law enforcement officers; encourages community partnerships that connect youth with mental health needs to effective services and supports in their community; and includes case studies, worksheets and tools for planning and implementing a local CIT for Youth program.
The Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets® are “common sense, positive experiences and qualities that help influence choices young people make and help them become caring, responsible adults.” There are three lists of developmental assets, made specific for three different age groups: 3-5 years, 8-12 years, and 12-18 years. The lists are available in a variety of languages.
Serving Everyone at the Table: Strategies for Enhancing the Availability of Culturally Competent Mental Health Service, a report by the University of South Florida on the impact of cultural diversity on mental health services.
Preventing the Flu
Check out these two clever resources for teaching children about handwashing and preventing illness:
Winning Video Public Service Announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services contest: H1 N1 Rap. There are also other videos available that were submitted for the contest.
Henry the Hand, Champion Handwasher
In addition, the Parent Portal on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention includes a link to resources on the H1 N1 flu. Link from the image below.
The CDC Parent Portal provides “a wealth of information from across all of CDC, covering everything from safety at home and the community to immunization schedules and developmental milestones.”
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National
Publications
Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General
This Report
of the Surgeon General on Mental Health is the product of
an invigorating collaboration between two federal agencies: The
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA),
which provides national leadership and funding to the states and
many professional and citizen organizations that are striving
to improve the availability, accessibility, and quality of mental
health services, was assigned lead responsibility for coordinating
the development of the report and The National Institutes of Health
(NIH), which supports and conducts research on mental illness
and mental health through its National Institute of Mental Health
(NIMH). This report recognizes the inextricably intertwined relationship
between our mental health and our physical health and well-being.
The report emphasizes that mental health and mental illnesses
are important concerns at all ages.
President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health
President George W. Bush established the President’s
New Freedom Commission on Mental Health in 2002 as part of
his commitment to eliminate inequality for Americans with disabilities.
The Commission was directed to identify policies that could be
implemented by federal, state, and local governments to maximize
the utility of existing resources, improve coordination of treatments
and services, and promote successful community integration for
adults with a serious mental illness and children with a serious
emotional disturbance. The commission submitted the final report
in 2003. The final report to the President offers a vision of
hope and recovery for people with a serious mental illness and
their families.
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