This article presents challenges facing child mental health services research in its context as a recently developed field of research and the contributions made by six articles in this issue. These articles illustrate the two major categories of services research: systems level research and clinical services level research. The authors of these articles have documented initial results of innovative interventions at both levels and have raised several methodological issues, particularly for randomized clinical trials in naturalistic settings. Recommendations for considering issues of design and measurement in future research are discussed.
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