It Takes a Village to Deliver and Test Child and Family-Focused Services

Abstract

Objectives-The purpose of this article is to highlight the benefits of collaboration in child focused mental health services research.Method-Three unique research projects are described. These projects address the mental health needs of vulnerable, urban, minority children and their families. In each one, service delivery was codesigned, interventions were co-delivered and a team of stakeholders collaboratively tested the impact of each one. Results-The results indicate that the three interventions designed, delivered, and tested are associated with reductions in youth mental health symptoms.Conclusion-These interventions are feasible alternatives to traditional individualized outpatient treatment.

Understanding Latino Parents’ Child Mental Health Literacy

“…Researchers have already established a link between urban poverty and child mental health issues (McKay & Bannon, 2004; McKay et al, 2010) thus LEP Latino urban poor children and their families living with income insecurity, like other highly stressed urban poor families, are at higher risk of developing mental health problems (Wadsworth & Santiago, 2008). However, Latinos in general and Latino children in particular tend to underutilize mental health services or significantly delay entry into care (Alegria et al, 2004; Cabassa, Molina, & Baron, 2012; Gelman, 2010; Guarnaccia, Martinez, & Acosta, 2005).…”

“…Collaborating closely with family members, community residents, consumers and service providers as co-investigators in the development, production, and testing of culturally congruent interventions is an established and growing trend within the fields of health education and child mental health services research (Abdou et al, 2010; Alvidrez, Snowden, & Kaiser, 2010; Borrayo, 2004; Cabassa et al, 2012; Chavez et al, 2004; Hohmann & Shear, 2002; McKay & Bannon, 2004; McKay et al, 2004, 2010; Valle et al, 2006), as is the use of health education videos (Gagliano, 1988), and of videos infused with entertainment-education (EE) strategies (Borrayo, 2004; Sood, 2002; Sood & Storey, 2013). Most recently, health education tools, such as videos and printed materials, infused with EE strategies have been used to meet the health education needs of low literacy Latinos in the United States (Borrayo, 2004; Cabassa et al, 2012; Valle et al, 2006).…”

Multiple Family Groups for Children with Disruptive Behavior Disorders: Child Outcomes at 6-Month Follow-Up

“…These parameters include treating clinic-referred, school-aged youth with DBDs, providing treatment in routine community-based clinic settings, and utilizing clinic-based providers. The multiple family group (MFG) intervention to reduce youth DBDs (e.g., Chacko et al in press; McKay et al 2011, 2010, 2002, 1999, 1995; Stone et al 1996) was developed within this framework. Designed for delivery in outpatient mental health clinics within socioeconomically disadvantaged communities, MFG attempts to address clinical, financial, and regulatory constraints of these settings.…”

Bi-directional Exchange: the Cornerstone of Globally Focused Social Work

“…Yet, both locally and globally, relief and service systems have encountered serious challenges to addressing pressing needs with problems frequently encountered in key areas: access (Anderson et al 2006; Miranda et al 2003); engagement of populations in highest need (Gopalan et al 2010; McKay and Bannon 2004); delivery of care aligned with the felt need of a population (McKay and Paikoff 2007; McKay et al 2000); designing and providing culturally and contextually relevant care (Gray et al 2012); reducing stigma associated with a range of difficulties, as well as seeking help from a professionalized system, rather than local, indigenous resources, i.e., family, friends, church (Gray et al 2012); and achieving observable, measureable, high impact outcomes (McKay et al 2010; McKay et al in press). Therefore, the challenge to the social work profession is to target human suffering with existing and limited tools, as well as learn from missteps, partial successes, and outright failures in both local and global efforts.…”

“…; see McKay et al 2010 for additional details). More specifically, collaborative social work efforts can be characterized by the extent to which there is (1) agreement and investment in shared goals; (2) equitable distribution of power, including fair involvement in decision making and opportunities to change aspects of the action plan; (3) recognition of skills and expertise associated with both social work expertise, but equally incorporating local knowledge and perspectives; (4) ongoing opportunities for communication based upon commitment to honest exchanges and willingness to raise concerns without blame and; (5) trust.…”