The Head Start Mental Health Research Consortium (HSMHRC) Is a research partnership between the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Funded jointly by these two agencies, a research consortium with five core sites brought together a range of disciplinary perspectives with three primary goals: (1) to develop assessment strategies for identifying young children's social and emotional development; (2) to assess Head Start families' access to mental health services; and (3) to investigate the effectiveness of both universal and targeted intervention models for Head Start children, including those with co-occurring language and behavioral problems.
This collaborative mental health research will yield information about the types of mental health needs of children from low-income families, the optimal approaches for assessing these needs, and the impact of research-based intervention models delivered within a Head Start context.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Administration on Children, Youth and Families. (1996). Head Start Program Performance Standards, 45 C.F.R. § 1304.Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
2.
Administration on Children, Youth and Families. (1998). Head Start Program Performance Measures: Second Progress Report. [On-line]. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Available: http://www2.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/hsb/hsreac/faces
American Orthopsychiatric Association (AOA). (1994). Strengthening mental health in Head Start: Pathways to quality to improvement.Report of the Task Force on Head Start and Mental Health.New York: Author.
5.
BryantD., VizzardL. H., WilloughbyM., & KupersmidtJ. (1999). A review of interventions for preschoolers with aggressive and disruptive behavior.Early Education and Development, 10(1), 47–68.
6.
BurnsB., HoagwoodK., & MrazekP. (1999). Effective treatments for mental disorders in children and adolescents.Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 2, 199–254.
7.
CavanaughD. A., LippittJ., & MoyoO. (2000). Resource guide to selected federal policies affecting children's social and emotional development and their readiness for school. [Online]. Available: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/childhp/cavpartl.pdf
8.
Child Mental Health Foundations and Agencies Network. (2000a). Off to a good start: Research on the risk factors for early school problems and selected federal policies affecting children's social and emotional development and their readiness for school. [On-line]. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, FPC Child Development Center. Available: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/childhp/goodstart.cfm
9.
Child Mental Health Foundations and Agencies Network. (2000b). A good beginning: Sending America's children to school with the social and emotional competence they need to succeed. [On-line]. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, FPG Child Development Center. Available: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/childhp/monograph.pdf
10.
CostelloE.., AngoldA., BurnsB., ErkanliA., StanglD., & TweedD. L. (1996). The Great Smokey Mountains Study of Youth: Functional impairment and serious emotional disturbance.Archives of General Psychiatry, 53, 1137–1143.
11.
HuffmanL. C., MehlingerS. L., & KerivanA. S. (2000). Risk factors for academic and behavioral problems at the beginning of school. [Online]. Available: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/childhp/huffman.pdf
12.
KeenanK., ShawD. S., WalshB., DelliquadriE., & CiovannelliJ. (1997). DSM-III-R disorders in preschool children from low-income families.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 620–627.
13.
KnitzerJ. (2000). Early childhood mental health services: A policy and systems development perspective. In ShonkoffJ. P., & MeiselsS. J. (Eds.), Handbook of early childhood intervention (2nd ed., pp. 416–438).New York: Cambridge University Press.
14.
KupersmidtJ., BryantD., & WilloughbyM. (1999, February). Data from teachers: New teacher report measures of aggressive behavior in preschool children. Paper presented at the Assessing Risk Factors & Psychopathology in Young Children Conference, Clearwater Beach, Florida.
15.
LopezM., TarulloL. B., FomessS., & BoyceC. (2000). Early identification and intervention: Head Start's response to mental health challenges.Early Education and Development, 11, 265–282.
16.
McLeodJ. D., & ShanahanM. J. (1996). Trajectories of poverty and children's mental health.Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 37, 207–220.
17.
National Institute of Mental Health. (1998). Report from the UNOCCAP Oversight Board to the National Advisory Mental Health Council [Online]. Available: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/rcsearch/unoccap.htm
18.
OldsD., RobinsonJ., SongN., LittleC., & HillP. (1999). Reducing risks for mental disorders during the first five years of life: A review of preventive interventions.Rockville, MD: Center for Mental Health Services.
19.
PiotrkowskiC. S., CollinsR. C., KnitzerJ., & RobinsonR. (1994). Strengthening mental health services in Head Start: A challenge for the 1990s.American Psychologist, 49, 133–139.
20.
SampsonR. J., RaudenbushS. W., & EarlsF. (1997). Neighborhoods and violent crime: A multilevel study of collective efficacy.Science, 277, 918–924.
21.
TakanishiR., & DeLeonP. H. (1994). A Head Start for the 21st century.American Psychologist, 49, 120–122.
22.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1999). Mental health: A report of the Surgeon General–Executive summary.Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services; National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health.
23.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). Surgeon General's Conference on Children's Mental Health: Developing a national action agenda. [On-line]. Available: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/cmh/default.htm
24.
WalkerH. M., & SeversonH. H. (1990). Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders (SSBD): User's guide and technical manual.Longmont, CO: Sopris West.
25.
WalkerH. M., SeversonH. H., & FeilE. C. (1995). The Early Screening Project: A proven child-find process.Longmont, CO: Sopris West.
26.
Webster-StrattonC. (1996). Early intervention with videotape modeling: Programs for families of children with oppositional defiant disorder or conduct disorder. In HibbsE. D., & JensenP. S. (Eds.), Psychosocial treatment research of child and adolescent disorders: Empirically based strategies for clinical practice (pp. 435–474). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
27.
YoshikawaH., & KnitzerJ. (1997). Lessons from the field: Head Start mental health strategies to meet changing needs.New York: National Center for Children in Poverty.
