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Access to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services

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Abstract

Adequate access to child and adolescent mental health services for young people in high need populations is an important concern of service systems researchers and program evaluators. We present results of a statewide study of access to community mental health services for eight populations of special concern. The analysis relied exclusively on existing databases in conjunction with innovative statistical techniques to provide comprehensive measures of access to care. Our findings indicate that access to care varied substantially across special populations, although children and adolescents in each of our eight “special populations” had greater access to public mental health services than members of the general population of the state. The interpretation of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Developmental and Mental Health Services, Waterbury, VT

    John A. Pandiani Ph.D. (Research and Statistics)

  2. The Bristol Observatory, Bristol, VT

    Steven M. Banks Ph.D. (Chief Statistician)

  3. Vermont Department of Developmental and Mental Health Services, Waterbury, VT

    Monica M. Simon M.S. (Senior Research and Statistics Analyst), M. Christine Van Vleck M.S. & Sheila M. Pomeroy M.S.

  4. Vermont Department of Developmental and Mental Health Services, 103 South Main Street, Waterbury, VT, 05671-1601

    John A. Pandiani Ph.D. (Research and Statistics)

Authors
  1. John A. Pandiani Ph.D.
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  2. Steven M. Banks Ph.D.
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  3. Monica M. Simon M.S.
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  4. M. Christine Van Vleck M.S.
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  5. Sheila M. Pomeroy M.S.
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Correspondence to John A. Pandiani Ph.D..

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Pandiani, J.A., Banks, S.M., Simon, M.M. et al. Access to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. J Child Fam Stud 14, 431–441 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-005-6854-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-005-6854-2

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