The Alternatives to Residential Treatment Study (ARTS) was initiated to investigate the efficacy of several innovative, community-based, child- and family-focused service programs that serve children with serious emotional disorders and their families. This article describes the methodology developed for the study and reports the preliminary findings from a sample of subjects in the first wave of a longitudinal outcome study. The data focus on the children and their families in terms of history of problems and services, cognitive and academic levels, clinical and social functioning, impact of the youth's disability on the family, and general family functioning.
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