Information related to managed care, behavioral health, Medicare, sustainability, and other administrative issues

New Web Site Provides Information on Evidence-Based Interventions for Child Mental Health Problems

The Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology and the MacArthur Foundation have just launched a web site to provide up-to-date information on mental health practice for children and adolescents. Major diagnoses are described, along with evidence-based treatments and additional reading.

You may visit the web site at http://www.effectivechildtherapy.com/ .

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Combination Treatment Most Effective in Adolescents with Depression

A clinical trial of 439 adolescents (ages 12 to 17) with major depression has found a combination of medication and psychotherapy to be the most effective treatment. Funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the study compared cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with fluoxetine, currently the only antidepressant approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in children and adolescents.

The results of the first 12 weeks of the Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS), conducted at 13 sites nationwide, show that 71 percent responded to the combination of fluoxetine and CBT. The other three treatment groups also showed improvement, with a 60.6 percent response to fluoxetine-only treatment, and 43.2 percent response from those receiving only CBT. The response rate was 34.8 percent for a group that received a placebo. The difference in response rates for the latter two treatment groups was not statistically significant. Clinically significant suicidal thinking, which was present in 29 percent of the volunteers at the beginning of the study, reduced significantly in all four treatment groups, with those receiving medication and therapy showing the greatest reduction.

The $17 million study is the first large, federally funded study using an antidepressant medication to treat adolescents suffering with moderate to severe depression. TADS was conducted between 2000 and 2003.

For more information on TADS, visit www.nimh.nih.gov/healthinformation/tads.cfm .

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Teen Violence Declines

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed data from the most recent national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). This analysis indicated that most violence-related behaviors decreased during 1991–2003 (weapon carrying, physical fighting); however, students increasingly were likely to miss school because they felt it was unsafe to attend. In 2003, nearly 1 in 10 high school students reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property during the preceding 12 months. Schools and communities should continue efforts to establish physical and social environments that prevent violence and promote actual and perceived safety in schools.

To view the report, visit http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5329a1.htm .

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Innovative Foster Care Programs Show Promise in Reducing Youth Violence

The Task Force on Community Preventive Services, an independent, nonfederal task force appointed by the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reports that therapeutic foster care programs reduced violent crimes among adolescents ages 12-18 who have a history of chronic delinquency an average of 70% compared with programs for youth in standard group residential treatment facilities. Additionally, the Task Force found that for every dollar spent on therapeutic foster care for these youth, an estimated $14 was saved in court and corrections system costs.

For more information on the Task Force's review of therapeutic foster care programs, visit http://www.thecommunityguide.org/violence . For more information on the Community Guide go to http://www.thecommunityguide.org .

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New Web Site Addresses the Health Concerns of American Indians and Alaska Natives

American Indian Health, a new National Library of Medicine Web site, presents information on issues affecting the health and well being of American Indians and Alaska Natives. The Web site is designed to bring together health and medical resources, including policies, consumer health information, and research. The site also provides information on traditional healing resources and links to an assortment of documents, Web sites, databases, and other resources.

The Web site is available at http://americanindianhealth.nlm.nih.gov/.

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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Launches New Campaign to Encourage Adoption of Children from Foster Care

With a significant number of children in the U.S. foster care system in need of permanent, loving homes, on July 15, HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced a new national public service advertising (PSA) campaign to increase public awareness and encourage adoption of children from the foster care system. The new ad campaign is part of HHS' 5-year, multi-faceted initiative called The Collaboration to AdoptUSKids, which focuses on recruiting new families for the more than 129,000 children in foster care.

The PSAs may be seen at the campaign's Web site, www.AdoptUSKids.org . The site features photographs and biographies of almost 7,000 children in foster care and directs interested families to the appropriate state agency for information about specific children. More than 3,000 children featured on the site have already been placed with adoptive families.

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White House to Unveil New ‘Parent Corps' Drug Prevention Effort

On July 14, White House “Drug Czar” John Walters, Corporation for National and Community Service CEO David Eisner, and other administration officials announced the official launch of the Parent Corps, a new national effort dedicated to helping parents prevent alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drug use by their children. Parent Corps programs use trained Parent Leaders to educate other parents about drug use and provide support to parents in their efforts to keep their children drug free. The program is administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, which provided a $4.2 million grant to the Atlanta-based nonprofit group National Families in Action to support programs in 9 states over 3 years: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.

More information about the Parent Corps is available at www.parentcorps.org . Additional information about the Corporation for National and Community Service is at www.nationalservice.org .