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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Carole Upshur, EdD, Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Ave North, Worcester, MA 01655, 508-334-7267, carole.upshur@umassmed.edu

The Together for Kids Coalition represents a community effort to ameliorate a growing problem of young children exhibiting significant behavioral problems in child care settings. TFK received local health foundation and United Way resources to test a pilot intervention project in 5 programs, serving over 300 children. Intervention services placed a mental health expert called a Child Development Advisor, part- time in the centers to work with teachers, children, and parents. Short-term services were offered to families whose children scored above clinical cut offs on a standardized behavioral assessment administered by classroom teachers, and teacher support and training was provided. Baseline and follow-up data were collected, designed to better describe the risk factors for these children, and the outcomes such a model could achieve. Evaluation data over three years of intervention demonstrate statistically significant reductions in aggression and maladaptive behavior, and increases in adaptive behavior of intervention children, while wait-list control children increased their clinically significant problems. The major risk factor for behavior problems appears to be developmental delays that were undetected by parents, pediatricians, and child care staff until assessment by the intervention study. Family education, poverty, or ethnicity did not predict level of behavioral difficulties. Follow-up interviews of parents whose children moved on to kindergarten and first grade indicate that providing early services may prevent the later need for special education services. Use of the outcomes data from this study have informed state-wide policy development on providing early childhood mental health consultation to child care centers.

Learning Objectives:

• Create research summaries that are useable by policy makers
• Identify critical elements to working with community coalitions
• Manage the trade offs between presenting scientific data and communicating with community and policy audiences

Keywords: Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Primary Prevention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation