Many children and adolescents within the child welfare system have significant behavioral and emotional problems that often are unaddressed, or even inappropriately addressed with the wrong treatments. Because of these problems, in Fall, 2007 the REACH Institute, Casey Family Programs, and the Annie E. Casey Foundation assembled a national consensus group of over 60 mental health and child welfare experts, parents, youth, representatives from national advocacy and professional organizations, and key federal leaders to develop first-ever national guidelines for mental health best practices in child welfare. This consensus process culminated in 6 articles, including the final guidelines published in the leading child welfare journal (Child Welfare) in early 2009 (see Hunter Romanelli et al, Child Welfare, 1:163-188, 2009, & 1:189-212, 2009).
In addition to the guidelines, a user-friendly toolkit has been developed to assist child welfare agencies in implementing the new guidelines. To download a pdf of mental health practice guidelines for child welfare, click: Best Practices for Mental Health in Child Welfare Guidelines To obtain a copy of the toolkit or to learn about programs to train child welfare staff in these optimal methods, contact Lisa Hunter Romanelli, PhD, at the REACH Institute, 212-947-7322, or email Dr. Hunter at
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