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Jean J. Johnson, DrPH, Center on Disability Studies, University of Hawai`i, 1776 University Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96822, 808/9562653, jeanj@hawaii.edu and Juanita Iwamoto, MSW, MPH, Felix Monitoring Office, 1314 South King Street, Suite 856, Honolulu, HI 96814.
Providing needed mental health services to children and youth with the social-emotional and behavioral problems remains a challenge. This presentation will describe the impact of a Federal Consent Decree on a statewide system that has resulted in all students in need of mental health services receiving quality services. That decree has resulted in massive systems change. Child and Adolescent Service System Principles (CASSP) are now imbedded within the system. The role of families and communities in designing and evaluating services has been enhanced. More students are now served under IDEA and Section 504. Financial and personnel resources have increased significantly. The importance of prevention and serving children at-risk for needing mental health services has been acknowledged. The changes have incorporated a system of measuring effectiveness through the use of process entitled Service Testing. Service Testing requires an in-depth analysis of the impact of services on child and family outcomes. This process results in a numerical method of evaluating whether the status of the student is favorable and whether the service system is functioning acceptably. Service Testing enables assessments to be made of changes in the service system over time. This presentation will detail the changes that have occurred since the Consent Decree, how the community of diverse stakeholders has been recruited to support the system changes, and how Service Testing has been utilized to demonstrate improved outcomes.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Evaluation,
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.