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Studies in the News for

California Department of Mental Health

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Studies in the News is a service provided to the Legislature and Governor's Office by the State Library's Research Bureau. Weekly lists of current articles related to legislative issues will be supplemented by monthly lists focusing on a specific area of public policy. Prior lists can be viewed from the California State Library's Web site at www.library.ca.gov/CRB/SITN/.

This service works as before:

• In addition to our regular Studies in the News, you may request any of our five monthly "Supplements" in the following areas by sending a reply to this e-mail (Please mark your choices).

• _____ Education Policy

• _____ Health Care Policy

• _____ Children and Family Policy

• _____ Environment, Growth Management and Transportation Policy

• _____ Employment, Training, Vocational Education, and Welfare to Work

• You may get copies of these studies by e-mailing a request to <chenningfeld@library.ca.gov> (Christie Henningfeld oversees the State Library's Capitol office), by calling 319-2691, or by stopping by room 5210 in the Capitol.

• If you would like us to try to get other studies, please e-mail information about each study you want to <chenningfeld@library.ca.gov>.

• Please use the same avenues if you want to be off the distribution lists.

• The list which follows shows only current additions to the collection. If you would like a cumulative list, or a cumulative list for only selected topics, please e-mail <chenningfeld@library.ca.gov>.

HEALTH

MENTAL HEALTH

Depression and the Initiation of Alcohol and Other Drug Use Among Youths Aged 12 to 17. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) Report. Prepared by the Office of Applied Studies (OAS) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA). (OAS, Rockville, Maryland) May 3, 2007. 4 p.

Full Text at: http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k7/newUserDepression/newUserDepression.pdf

[“Research has shown that there is a strong association between mental health disorders and substance use disorders, but findings about the order of onset and direction of influence vary by substance and type of disorder. There is strong evidence, for example, that alcohol abuse can be a contributing factor to the development of depression, but more typically the mental condition occurs prior to the substance use disorder. Associations also exist between mental disorders and substance use behaviors that do not meet the criteria for substance use disorders. For example, research suggests that adults and adolescents with major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year were more likely than those without MDE to have used alcohol heavily or to have used an illicit drug in the past year.”]

[Request #S705156]

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Helping the Most Vulnerable Infants, Toddlers, and Their Families. By Jane Knitzer, Columbia University, and Jill Lefkowitz, National Center for Children in Poverty. Issue Brief No. 1. (The National Center for Children in Poverty, New York, New York) January 2006. 38 p.

Full Text at: http://nccp.org/publications/pdf/text_669.pdf

[“Compelling evidence from neuroscience about how early relationships and experience influence the architecture of the brain, and in turn early school success, has led to increasing policy and practice attention to implementing child development and family support programs like Early Head Start for infants and toddlers. But, there is also a group of babies, toddlers, and parents who face so many risks that programs like these alone may not be enough.

This issue brief focuses on the special challenges of helping babies and toddlers whose earliest experiences, environments, and especially relationships create not a warm and nurturing atmosphere, but what scientists have called ‘toxic stress’ – exposing them to such high and consistent levels of stress that their growing brains cannot integrate their experiences in ways that promote growth and learning. It describes 10 strategies that programs and communities can implement to ensure these babies, toddlers, and families are connected to sufficiently intensive supports that can get them on a path to early school success.”]

[Request #S705157]

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A High-Performing System for Well-Child Care: A Vision for the Future. By David Bergman, Stanford University, and others. (The Commonwealth Fund, New York, New York) October 2006. 72 p.

Full Text at: http://www.commonwealthfund.org/usr_doc/Bergman_high-performsyswell-childcare_959.pdf?section=4039

[“Standardization of well-child care services is intended to ensure that families receive core services and key information. But standardization also encourages a “one-size-fits-all” approach that subjects many families to unnecessary office visits. At the same time, many children at risk for physical, developmental, or behavioral problems fail to get needed services due to time and resource constraints.

This report presents a vision for a high performing system of well-child care and a guide for future policy and research efforts. Based on their extensive research, the authors conclude that an ideal system would be characterized by advanced access to services, team based care, individualized developmental and behavioral screening, care coordination through a medical home, electronic health records, and tools for information and knowledge transfer. Some reforms are ready to be implemented, while others would require additional resources, new technology, and/or policy changes.”]

[Request #S705158]

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State Early Childhood Policies Improving the Odds. By Helen Stebbins, Director, Policy and Research, and Jane Knitzer, Columbia University. (The National Center for Children in Poverty, New York, New York) 2007. 21 p.

Full Text at: http://nccp.org/publications/pdf/text_725.pdf

[“Early childhood is a time of great opportunity. State policymakers recognize this and some are trying to use resources strategically to promote healthy development and school readiness in young children. This report based on findings from The National Center for Children in Poverty’s (NCCP) Improving the Odds for Young Children project, highlights key findings from NCCP’s database of state policy choices that provides a unique picture of early childhood policies across the states. The report summarizes emerging patterns and can be used to stimulate a dialogue.”]

[Request #S705159]

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Making Reform Real: Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Children in the Dependency System. 2006 Foster Youth Mental Health Summit: Report and Recommendations. By the Children's Law Center of Los Angeles. (The California Endowment, Los Angeles, California) [2006.] 51 p.

Full Text at: http://www.calendow.org/reference/publications/pdf/mental/Mental%20Health%20Summit%20Report%201-17-07%20final%20edit%208.pdf

[“The Los Angeles Foster Youth Mental Health Initiative (‘FYMHI’) was created - - thanks to the generous support of The California Endowment - - to bring attention to the mental health needs of this vulnerable population and began to craft recommendations for system change. The first phase of the project was the convening of a groundbreaking Foster Youth Mental Health Summit, held on May 16, 2006, at The California Endowment’s Center for Health Communities….

This report summarizes the discussion and recommendations of the Summit participants in regard to the ten critical areas that were the topics of discussion at the Summit breakout sessions: information sharing, enhancing accountability & data tracking, capacity building – training, retention & recruitment, best practices & treatment models, role of the court & advocates in meeting the mental health needs of dependent & delinquent youth, mental health payment & rate structure, developmentally delayed youth, crossover youth, infants and children (prenatal to five), young children and teens (5 – 14 years old), and transition youth (16 – 21 years old).”]

[Request #S705161]

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Integrating Publicly Funded Physical and Behavioral Health Services: A Description of Selected Initiatives: FINAL REPORT. By Health Management Associates. Prepared for The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (The Foundation, Princeton, New Jersey) February 2007. 107 p.

Full Text at: http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/hsp/docs/rwjfreport.pdf

[“Very rarely do mental health and substance use problems exist in isolation. The conditions frequently co-occur along with a medical illness such as hear disease, cancer, diabetes and neurological illnesses (Institute of Medicine, 2005). Even more disturbing are findings that suggest that those with serious behavioral health conditions experience earlier death as a result of under-treated health conditions. Patients with co-morbid behavioral health conditions experience significantly higher medical costs than patients without behavioral health complications and research has shown that treatment of mental health and substance abuse conditions results in lower overall health care costs.

Provider and payer systems have begun implementing strategies that enable more effective coordination of care and collaboration among clinicians in order to integrate physical and behavioral health services. In fact, the recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Improving the Quality of Health Care for Mental and Substance-Use Conditions, recommends that collaboration and coordination of mental and substance use conditions be the norm. The report further recommends that providers of services should establish ‘clinically effective linkages within their own organizations and between providers of mental health and substance use treatment.’…

The path toward integration varies depending on the goals, resources, and the system reach of the implementer. This report illustrates the variety of integration goals and approaches undertaken by providers, payers and public agencies in the pursuit of improved service integration.”]

[Request #S705163]

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A Different Kind of “Crime Wave” – States Reform Juvenile Justice. By Sarah Steverman. National Conference of State Legislatures. (The Conference, Washington, DC) April 30, 2007. 2 p.

Full Text at: http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/shn/2007/sn490a.htm

[“Some ten years after adopting a ‘get tough’ approach toward juvenile crime, the pendulum is swinging the other way. Convinced that they’ll achieve safer communities and save money by providing youthful offenders with alternatives to prison, a growing number of states are reforming their juvenile justice systems by, among other things, increasing access to mental health services and substance abuse treatment….

One of the largest and probably most effective reform efforts in the nation is funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. In 2004, the Foundation launched the Models of Change Initiative, which is providing more than $100 million in grants over five years to four states – Illinois, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Washington – to help them launch juvenile justice reforms. Pennsylvania has reduced crime rates significantly by ensuring that youthful offenders who are released from secure facilities are enrolled in mental health and drug treatment programs, school and/or work. Washington is promoting evidence-based programs to reduce recidivism, such as ‘Functional Family Therapy and Aggression Replacement Therapy.’ ”]

[Request #S705164]

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Meeting Goals, Sharing Strengths: An Evaluation of the California Endowment’s Mental Health Initiative. By the Lewin Group. (The California Endowment, Los Angeles, California) July 2006. 44 p.

Full Text at: http://www.calendow.org/reference/publications/pdf/mental/60255_CAEMentalHealth5.pdf

[“This Outcome Evaluation report is the final in a series of evaluation reports produced by the Lewin group (Lewin) as part of a three-year external evaluation of The California Endowment’s Mental Health Initiative (MHI). The purpose of this final summative report is to present findings, at the overall MHI level, on the outcomes, accomplishments and contributions of the MHI over the three-year grant period.

Since The California Endowment (The Endowment) was founded in 1996, it has supported projects to deal with two significant issues in California and the nation: the high incidence of diagnosable mental disorders among adults, adolescents and children and limited access to culturally responsive mental health programs. In 2000, The Endowment launched a statewide initiative to learn more about the problems of nonprofit and public mental health systems to deliver effective services. The Endowment staff sought innovative, culturally responsive approaches to reaching underserved individuals and communities throughout California and priority was given to programs in which the community played a central role, and programs that proposed partnerships and community ownership in the approaches.”]

[Request #S705165]

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Improving Outcomes for Children and Adolescents through School Mental Health Programs. By Mark D. Wiest, University of Maryland School of Medicine. Testimony presented to School Mental Health Congressional Committee. (The Center for School Mental Health Analysis and Action, Baltimore, Maryland) May 8, 2007. 3 p.

Full Text at: http://csmha.umaryland.edu/resources.html/SMH%20Congressional%20Testimony%20%205.8.07.pdf

[“Our public schools serve students and families from a broad range of background, including different cultures and degrees of socioeconomic well-being, as well as types and severities of issues. Schools are the major provider of mental health services to youth, but school-employed health and mental health staff are far too few, and in general, our nations contends with significant capacity problems in attempting to meet the unmet mental health needs of children and adolescents.

Significant stress, the experience of trauma, depression, anxiety, substance use, attention and behavior problems, all represent barriers to learning, stressing the youth experiencing them, and stressing schools to help youth in contending with these conditions. There is clear evidence that the experience of these problems is associated with impaired school behavior and performance, increased rates of involvement in child welfare and juvenile service systems, increased drop out, and diminished ability to enjoy a fulfilled life and effectively work and contribute to society.

Signs of these problems are usually apparent early, and evidence indicates that systematic efforts to prevent problems and to identify them and address them early on are effective. But if the school system and its collaborators in other child serving systems fail to act early and effectively, problems worsen, costs to youth, families and society intensify, and we miss critical opportunities to alter the trajectories of youth toward school and life success.”]

[Request #S705166]

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“Children at Risk: The Association between Perceived Weight Status and Suicidal Thoughts and Attempts in Middle School.” By Lauren M. Whetstone, East Carolina University, and others. IN: Journal of School Health, vol. 77, no. 2 (February, 2007) pp. 59-66.

Full Text at: http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/action/doSearch?

[“Suicide is one of the most common causes of death among young people. A report from the US Surgeon General called for strategies to prevent suicide, including increasing public awareness of suicide and risks factors, and enhancing research to understand risk and protective factors. Weight perception has been linked to depression and poor self-esteem in adolescents. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between perceived weight status and suicidal thoughts and actions by gender in middle school youth.”]

[Request #S705169]

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Intervention Summary: Trauma Recovery and Empowerment Model. National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices. (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Rockville, Maryland) December 2006. 11 p.

Full Text at: http://www.nrepp.samhsa.gov/programfulldetails.asp?PROGRAM_ID=87

[“The Trauma Recovery and Empowerment Model (TREM) is a fully manualized group-based intervention designed to facilitate trauma recovery among women with histories of exposure to sexual and physical abuse. Drawing on cognitive restructuring, psychoeducational, and skills-training techniques, the gender-specific 24-29 session group emphasizes the development of coping skills and social support. It addresses both short- and long-term consequences of violent victimization, including mental health symptoms, especially posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, and substance abuse. TREM has been successfully implemented in a wide range of service settings (mental health, substance abuse, and criminal justice) and among diverse racial and ethnic populations.’]

[Request #S705170]

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Preliminary Adaptations for Working with Traumatized Latino/Hispanic Children and Their Families. Culture and Trauma Brief, Vol. 2, No. 3. (National Child Traumatic Stress Network, Rockville, Maryland) 2007. 8 p.

Full Text at: http://www.nctsnet.org/nctsn_assets/pdfs/culture_and_trauma_brief_v2n3_LatinoHispanicChildren.pdf

[“The Culture and Trauma Briefs series serves to support the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) commitment to raising the standard of care for traumatized children, their families, and their communities by highlighting the diversity of needs and experiences of those children, families, and communities….

In a national sample of traumatized children, the NCTSN (NCTSN, 2005) found significant differences among groups in the types of trauma experienced. The Latino/Hispanic children sampled experienced the following types of traumas in order of prevalence: Complex trauma, 72%; Exposure to domestic violence, 53%; Impaired caregiver, 47%; Emotional abuse, 42%; Physical abuse, 33%; Sexual abuse, 29%; Neglect, 27%; and, Community violence, 22%....

According to the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (2002), of all children reported as maltreated in 2001, 50.2% wee white, 25% were Mexican American, and 14.5% were Latino/Hispanic. Certain risk factors that have been linked to trauma exposure are more prevalent among Latino/Hispanic children in the United States. For example, 28% of Latino children live in poverty compared to 9% of all children (US Census Bureau, 2000).

[Request #S705171]

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Supporting Students: A Model Policy for Colleges and Universities. Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law (The Center, Washington, DC) May 16, 2007. 10 p.

Full Text at: http://www.bazelon.org/pdf/SupportingStudents.pdf

["Many college-age students suffer from depression. In the 2006 National College Health Assessment, 43.8% of the 94,806 students surveyed reported they felt 'felt so depressed it was difficult to function' during the past year, and 9.3% that they had 'seriously considered suicide' during the year...

There is a broad agreement that colleges and universities should encourage students to seek counseling when they feel depressed or overwhelmed, or otherwise have mental health needs. It is a welcome development that on most campuses students now have access to counseling services that are confidential and free of charge. There is no consensus, however, on how schools should respond when students are in crisis, particularly if they manifest self-injurious thoughts and behavior or appear to pose a potential threat to others....

The Bazelon Center offers this model policy to help colleges and universities navigate these complex issues and develop a nondiscriminatory approach to a student who is in crisis because of a mental health problem. The model was developed after consultation with mental health experts, higher education administrators, counselors and students. It is a collection of best practices that all colleges and universities can and should adopt. It places particular emphasis on how to deal fairly and non-punitively with students in crisis, and how to support those whose mental health problems may be interfering with their academic, extracurricular or social lives."]

[Request #S705172]

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