In order to create a more functional system of care, agency administrators, direct service providers, the young people served, their parents, and advocates worked together to assess local needs and existing service features, and to plan required changes. This article presents data on some personal and family characteristics and patterns of service utilization of the young people served in this system of care. These data include the child's age, gender, race or ethnicity, learning characteristics, psychiatric status, and adjudications; parent marital status and employment, living arrangements for the child, and family history of risk factors; and the child's history of services and placements. Some relationships within the present data and between the present data and those of other system-of-care descriptions are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to survey the homework practices of general education teachers who teach students with disabilities. A national sample of 441 elementary, middle, and senior high teachers were asked about their homework practices, including their use of adaptations for students with disabilities. The results highlight homework practices and adaptations that are used frequently and perceived by teachers as helpful for students with disabilities. Also discussed are the differences in practices and adaptations across elementary, middle, and high school teachers, as well as the instructional implications of the identified homework practices for students with disabilities and their general education teachers.

Recent reports about the mental health status of children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders, the limited availability of related services, and a lack of collaborative practices indicate a need to consider how services are provided to these individuals and their families. In this paper, the needs of this population and the costs of providing services are presented. Then the issues that are essential to developing a comprehensive, community-based approach to serving students with emotional and behavioral disorders are discussed.

The present study examines a wide range of demographic, family, community, educational, and other risk and problem characteristics of Illinois children and adolescents admitted to programs designed to prevent the need for residential placements. These programs were designed to deliver education and treatment in a number of ways while emphasizing family-centered, multiagency, and community-based principles of care. The children and adolescents in these programs manifested a wide range of serious emotional and behavioral problems and had extensive histories of treatment of various kinds. Many had experienced numerous unfortunate life stressors that probably will complicate treatment. Some results of the present study are similar to those of other surveys of children with emotional and behavioral disorders, whereas other results may be unique. Implications of key results are noted.