Primary prevention services for children and youth

Described and empirically supported is an interventive model for primary prevention of social and health problems among children and youth. Involving three components—information dissemination, information personalization, and skills acquisition—preventive intervention is delivered through a group training format. Data from two field applications of the model document its feasibility and effectiveness. The first application focuses on helping adolescents prevent unwanted pregnancy; the second on preventing cigarette smoking among preadolescents. In both studies self-report, behavioral, and objective data obtained at program's end and at 6-month follow-up favored trained youths when compared to those in untrained control conditions. The model's adjunctive benefits and directions for further research are discussed.     

Continuity of care in youth services: A systematic review

Improving continuity of care is an important objective of various interventions and innovative programs for youngsters in vulnerable situations. Yet, the definition and conceptualization of continuity of youth care remains unclear, as well as important benefits and pitfalls regarding its implementation. Therefore, this study provides a systematic review of the literature, focusing on the conceptualization and evaluation of continuity. Database searches revealed 28 studies that focus on youth care interventions aimed at improving continuity of care. Selected studies were analyzed in Nvivo, using a three dimension model of continuity of care developed in general practice. Results show that continuity of care is rarely the central focus in youth services research. Moreover, its conceptualization is often limited to management aspects of continuity rather than highlighting other dimensions of continuity (e.g., relational and informational continuity). Also, experienced continuity of care as perceived by youngsters themselves is underrepresented in the selected studies, resulting in a partial view on continuity in youth care. It is concluded that more research is needed on youngsters' perceptions of continuity of youth services and its relational and information aspects, using qualitative study designs.     

Training youth services staff to identify,assess, and intervene when working with youth at high risk for suicide

Youth in the child welfare system are often at increased risk for suicide due to the numerous physical and psychological challenges they face. This study was a longitudinal assessment of the impact of suicide intervention training on staff's abilities to identify, assess, and intervene when working with these youth in a child welfare setting. Participants received an adapted version of the “Youth and Depression” suicide intervention curriculum (Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 2010) designed to improve participants' attitudes toward suicide intervention, knowledge about suicide intervention, self-efficacy for engaging in intervention behaviors, and increased use of assessment and intervention behaviors over time. ANOVA tests yielded large effect sizes for increasing knowledge and self-efficacy. There were no statistical changes in attitudes and reluctance, but these were very positive even before training. Results for changes in the use of assessment and intervention skills were more modest but demonstrated some improvements from pre-training to post-training. Further refinement of the curriculum may yield larger and consistent improvements in intervention behaviors.     

Inclusive education services for children and youth with disabilities: Values,roles and challenges of school leaders

Implementing inclusive education requires significant changes to values, systems, and practices. Hong Kong began to implement the inclusive education policy on the basis of voluntary participation in 1997. The government later launched a school partnership scheme, under which schools with proficient practices in whole-school approach to inclusive education were invited to serve as resource schools to support other schools. Data on what has led school leaders to join the reform under the policy of voluntary participation and how they tackle problems during implementation cannot be located. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative study is to uncover the reasons for school leaders' decision to participate in and what they did to facilitate the school wide effort to practice inclusive education, as well as challenges encountered. Key findings included Christianity and Confucianism as the prime reasons for practicing inclusive education, partnership with teachers and a shared vision as the key to successful implementation, and a competitive education system together with inadequate resources and teacher training as the main challenges. Recommendations consist of incorporating value development and building relationships with stakeholders in principal training programs, integrating knowledge and skills for inclusive education into the pre- and in-service teacher training programs, and appropriating resources with increased stability and autonomy.     

Police encounters among a community sample of children and youth accessing mental health services

Generally, within the Canadian context, scholarship on police encounters with persons living with mental illness has focused on the experiences of adults and not children and youth. In this article, we present preliminary work of a secondary data analysis of intake statistics collected over a 5-year period (2009–2014) and a thematic content analysis of qualitative intake notes collected over a 2-year period (2009–2011) about police involvement among a community sample of children and youth accessing mental health services. Of 8,920 intakes completed, 1,449 children and youth, birth to 24 years old, had had police involvement at the time of accessing mental health services. Over the 5 years, the average number of young people with police involvement at the time of accessing mental health services was 16%, or one in six children and youth. Analysis of the qualitative intake notes revealed two main reasons for police involvement: (1) support in the home for a distressed child, and (2) concerns about a child’s conduct and behaviors in the community. The implications for social work practice and future research are discussed.