Create Comprehensive and Collaborative Systems

Abstract

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The development of comprehensive and collaborative service systems for children with serious emotional disturbance and their families from the advocacy of the 1960s to its current status is reviewed. These systems represent a coalition of the child-serving agencies (education, mental health, child welfare, and juvenile justice), health care, the practitioners in these agencies, and the families that they serve. A detailed description of an empirically supported model system operating in Vermont is presented along with other state models. Challenges in creating and maintaining comprehensive and collaborative systems along with recommended strategies for overcoming these challenges are described.