JUNE/MAY 2003

Question:

Is training available on effective and evidence-based assessments and clinical interventions through the technical assistance partnership (TAP)?

The Technical Assistance Partnership (TAP) provides training and information, which reinforces the expectation that grant communities will use assessment instruments and clinical interventions that are measurable. The TAP's Senior Mental Health Advisor, Dr. Gayle Porter, gave an example of this training on a visit to the Compass project in Mississippi.

1. The grant community was given information on developing standardized screening and in-depth assessment procedures for children attending an alternative school. The training included the titles of books that contained assessment tools for specific presenting problems and diagnostic categories:

 

        Handbook of Clinical Assessment of Children and Adolescents, Vols. 1 & 2, by Clarice J. Kestenbaum, M.D., and Daniel J. Williams, M.D.

       Measure for Clinical Practice, Vols. 1 & 2. Kevin Corcoran, Ph.D., J.D., and Joel Fischer, D.S.W.

         

2. Two examples of treatment plans that emphasize the use of measurable outcomes were also provided.

3. It was emphasized that clinical interventions had to be culturally competent; based on best practice for specific diagnostic categories; and useful for parents, teachers, and clinicians. The grant community was encouraged to use some of its grant dollars to obtain training for its parents and staff in the use of cognitive behavioral interventions that focused on skills building:

For parents:

A Parents' Guide to Attention Deficit Disorders , by Lisa J. Barn

The Effective Black Parenting Program, by Dr. Kirby T. Alvy

Your Defiant Child , by Russell A. Barkley, Ph.D.

For teachers:

Skillstreaming: Teaching Prosocial Skills , by Arnold P. Goldstein, Ph.D.

Building Dreams: Elementary School Edition , by Mychal Wynn and Dee Blassie

  

For clinicians:

Children of Color: Psychological Interventions With Culturally Diverse Youth , edited by Jewelle Taylor Gibbs, Ph.D., and Larke Nahme Huang, Ph.D.

Outcomes for Children and Youth With Behavioral and Emotional Disorders and Their Families: Programs and Evaluation Best Practices , edited by Michael H. Epstein, Ed.D., Krista Kutash, Ph.D., and Albert Duchnowski, Ph.D.

What Works with Children and Adolescents? A Critical Review of Psychological Interventions With Children, Adolescents and Their Families, edited by Alan Carr

Community Treatment for Youth: Evidence-Based Interventions for Severe Emotional and Behavioral Disorders , edited by Barbara J. Burns, Ph.D., and Kimberly Hoagwood, Ph.D.

The Handbook of Child and Adolescent Systems of Care: The New Community Psychiatry , edited by Andres J Pumariega, M.D., and Nancy Winters, M.D.