CHILDRENS MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH TRAINING

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The proposal seeks continuation funds to train research scientists studying mental health services for children and adolescents. The goals of the Vanderbilt University Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services Research Training Program are; (a) prepare trainees to have the requisite commitment, understanding, and technical expertise to design and execute sophisticated research on mental health services for children and adolescents; (b) to introduce trainees to participation in research that improves community-based mental health services and clinical outcomes. During the past four years of funding, this program has been successful in achieving both of these goals. All trainees that have been funded by this program currently are involved in mental health services research. As a result of training, this trainee group has completed 80 articles or presentations at leading conferences on mental health services research or universities. The quality of research at the Center for Mental Health policy has been enhanced, as indicated by the ongoing participation of faculty and trainees in the NIMH-funded follow-up of the largest research project designed to evaluate a comprehensive and coordinated system of mental health services for children and adolescents, the Fort Bragg Demonstration Project. This project and other research is investigating mental health outcomes and service utilization, as well as the evaluation of services implementation, services quality and costs of new systems of care. A recently submitted proposal for the establishment of a Research Center focuses on the basic elements of treatment conducted in community treatment settings and examines why community-based services are less effective. Funds are requested for five pre- and two postdoctoral trainees. The length of training grant support is three years for both predoctoral and for postdoctoral trainees. Predoctoral students in their fourth year will serve as research assistants on funded grants and receive a full tuition grant from their respective departments for the remainder of their course requirements. The program emphasized the interdisciplinary nature of the field in that trainees come from diverse backgrounds and faculty are represented from psychology, psychiatry, public policy and program evaluation, and pediatrics. To ensure that the trainee develops expertise in the wide range of research tools needed, learns about the various areas of mental health, and obtains research experience in a variety of settings, the grant program includes five primary components: (1) the faculty advisor system; (2) the curriculum, (3) the research seminar, (4) participation in ongoing research, and (5) field placements.