Child Guidance as a Community Service

Abstract

Child guidance was originally developed as a way to deal with delinquency. Recently, clinics have been concerned much more broadly with treatment of children's behavior problems. The clinic team made up of the psychia trist, psychologist, and social worker has become more flexible, and group techniques of various kinds have been developed. Serious problems result from scarcity and maldistribution of services. Child guidance services are being provided by gen eral mental-health clinics and family agencies as well as by the traditional children's clinic. This trend has implications for organization of services in the future. There is now an increased interest in service to disadvantaged groups including, among others, the delinquent, the mentally retarded, and children in foster care.