Skip to main content
Log in

Needs assessment of community-based services for children and youth with emotional or behavioral disorders and their families: Part 1. A conceptual model

The journal of mental health administration Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Communities throughout the nation are attempting to develop comprehensive systems of community-based, interagency care for children and youth with emotional or behavioral disorders and their families. Needs assessment has been identified as a key component of these initiatives. A needs assessment provides system planners with the data needed to make informed decisions with regard to improving the current system of care. In this first of a two-article series, an overview is presented of a model needs assessment designed for implementation by an interagency coalition interested in developing a comprehensive system of community-based services for children and youth with emotional or behavioral disorders and their families. Major components of the model include foundations for needs assessment, data collection, and data utilization.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Stroul BA, Friedman RM:A System of Care for Seriously Emotionally Disturbed Children and Youth. Washington, DC: CASSP Technical Assistance Center, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Children's Defense Fund:The State of America's Children, 1991. Washington, DC: Children's Defernse Fund, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Koyanagi C, Gaines S:All Systems Failure: An Examination of the Results of Neglecting the Needs of Children With Serious Emotional Disturbance. Alexandria, VA: National Mental Health Association, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  4. U.S. Department of Education:Fourteenth Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of Public Law 94-142. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Burns BJ: Mental health service use by adolescents in the 1970s and 1980s.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 1990;30:144–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Behar L: Financing mental health services for children and adolescents.Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic 1990; 54:127–139.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Wells K, Whittington D: Prior services used by youths referred to mental health facilities: A closer look. In: Algarin A, Friedman R (Eds.):A System of Care for Children's Mental Health: Building a Research Base. Tampa: Florida Mental Health Institute, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Select Committee on Children, Youth, and Family:Where Are Our Children. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Benedict MI, White RB: Factors associated with foster care length of stay.Child Welfare 1991: 70 (1):45–58.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Leone P, Rutherford R, Nelson M:Special Education in Juvenile Corrections. Reston, VA: The Council for Exceptional Children, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  11. MacIntyre T: Behaviorally disordered youth in correctional settings: Prevalence, programming, and teacher training.Behavioral Disorders 1993; 18:167–176.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Murphy D: The prevalence of handicapping conditions among juvenile delinquentsRemedial and Special Education 1986; 7:7–16.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Henggeler SW, Melton GB, Smith LA: Family preservation using multisystemic therapy: An effective alternative to incarcerating serious juvenile offenders.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 1992; 60:953–961.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Rutherford R, Nelson CM, Wolford B: Special education in the most restrictive environment: Corrections/special education.Journal of Special Education 1985; 19:59–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Joint Commission on the Mental Helath of Children:Crisis in Child Mental Health. New York: Harper & Row, 1969.

    Google Scholar 

  16. President's Commission on Mental Health:Report of the Subtask Panel on Infants, Children, and Adolescents. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Beachler MB: The mental health services program for youth.The Journal of Mental Health Administration 1990; 17:115–121.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Nelson CM, Pearson CA:Integrating Services for Children and Youth With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. Reston, VA: The Council for Exceptional Children, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Manderscheid RW: Needs assessment approaches for application to child and adolescent populations. In: Greenbaum, P, Friedman R, Duchnowski A, et al. (Eds.):Children's Mental Health Services and Policy: Building a Research Base. Tampa: Florida Mental Health Institute, 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Reiger DA, Myers JK, Robins LN, et al.: The NIMH Epidemiologic Catchment Area program.Archives of General Psychiatry 1984; 41:934–941.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Kimmel WA:Needs Assessment: A Critical Perspective. Washington, DC: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Ciarlo JA, Tweed DL, Shern DL, et al. Validation of indirect methods to estimate need for mental health services.Evaluation and Program Planning 1992; 15:115–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Ford J, Young D, Perez BC, et al.: Needs assessment for persons with severe mental illness: What services are needed for successful community living.Community Mental Health Journal 1992; 28:491–503.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Landsberg G, Fletcher R, Maxwell T: Developing a comprehensive community care system for the mentally ill/mentally retarded.Community Mental Health Journal 1987; 23:131–134.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Solomon P, Beck S, Gordon B:Barriers to Community Placement of Psychiatric Extended Care Facility Patients. Columbus: Ohio Department of Mental Health, 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Solomon, P, Davis J: Meeting community service needs of discharged psychiatric patients.Psychiatric Quarterly 1985; 57:11–17.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Solomon P, Evans D: Service needs of youths released from a state psychiatric facility as perceived by service providers and families.Community Mental Health Journal 1992; 28:305–315.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Friedman R: Strategies for conducting needs assessments based on system of care models. In: Greenbaum P, Friedman R, Duchnowski A, et al. (Eds.):Children's Mental Health Services and Policy: Building a Research Base. Tampa: Florida Mental Health Institute, 1988, pp. 52–58.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Morrissey JP, Tausign M, Lindsey M:Network Analysis Methods for Mental Health Service System Research: A Comparison of Two Community Support Systems. Series BN No. 6 DHHS Pub. No. (ADM) 85-1383. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1985.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Morrissey JP: An interorganizational network approach to evaluating children's mental health service systems.New Directions for Program Evaluation 1992; 54:85–98.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Epstein MH, Nelson CM, Polsgrove L, et al.: A comprehensive community-based approach to serving students with emotional and behavioral disorders.Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 1993; 1:127–133.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Knitzer J, Steinberg, Z., Fleisch B:At the Schoolhouse Door: An Examination of Programs and Policies for Children with Behavioral and Emotional Problems. New York: Bank Street College of Education, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Marder C:Secondary School Students Classified as Serious Emotionally Disturbed: How Are They Being Served? Menlo Park, CA: SRI International, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Altschuld JW, Yoon JS, Cullen C: The utilization of needs assessment resultsEvaluation and Programming 1993; 16:279–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Achenbach TM, McConaughy SH:Empirically Based Assessment of Child and Adolescent Psychopathology: Practical Applications. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Kauffman JM:Characteristics of Behavior Disorders of Children and Youth. Fifth ed. Columbus, OH: Merrill, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Burchard J, Schaefer M: Improving accountability in a service delivery system in children's mental health.Clinical Psychology Review 1992; 12:867–882.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Walker HM, Block-Pedego A, Todis B:School Archival Records Search (SARES): User's Guide and Technical Manual. Longmont, CA: Sopris West, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Schlenger WE, Etheridge RM, Hansen DJ, et al.:The CASSP Initial Cohort Study, Volume I: Cross-Site Findings. Rockville, MD: National Institute of Mental Health, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Goodman JS: Diagnosis and intervention in young children: The continuing gap.Journal of Psychology 1987; 121: 21–35.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Quinn K, Cumblad C: Service providers' perceptions of interagency collaboration in their communities.Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders 1994; 2:109–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Lincoln YS, Guba EG:Naturalistic Inquiry: Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1985.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Miles MB, Huberman AM:Qualitative Data Analysis: A Sourcebook of New Methods. Second ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Arizona Department of Health Services:State of Arizona Children's Behavioral Health Services Needs and Resources Assessment. A.R.S. Section 36-3421 and A.R.S. Section 36-3431-35. Arizona: Arizona Department of Health Services, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  45. Rugs D, Lazar K, Kutash K: Evaluating children's service delivery using a system approach.Evaluation & Program Planning, in press.

  46. Delbecq AL, Van de Ven AH, Gustufson DH:Group Techniques for Program Planning: A Guide to Nominal Group and Delphi Processes, Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1975.

    Google Scholar 

  47. Delbecq AL, Van de Ven AH: A group process model for problem identification and program planning. In: Bennis WG, Benne KD, Chin R, et al. (Eds.):The Planning of Change. Second ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1976, pp. 283–296.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Additional information

Preparation of this manuscript was funded in part by Grant No. 237E20020 from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs. The opinions and statements in this article are those of the authors and in no way represent positions of the U.S. Department of Education.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Epstein, M.H., Quinn, K., Cumblad, C. et al. Needs assessment of community-based services for children and youth with emotional or behavioral disorders and their families: Part 1. A conceptual model. The Journal of Mental Health Administration 23, 418–431 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02521026

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02521026

Keywords

Navigation