Children's Mental Health Services in an Inner City Neighborhood. 1. A 3-year epidemiological study.

Abstract

At the time of this study, Dr. Novack was Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Public Health, Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510. He is presently Director of Pediatric Ambulatory Services, Cuyahoga County Hospital, and Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio 44109. Dr. Bromet was formerly a social epidemiologist with the Hill Health Center, New Haven. She is presently a Research Associate, Department of Psychiatry, Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, California. Dr. Neill was formerly Assistant Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine and Connecticut Mental Center. He is presently Coordinator of Children's Services for the Blue Grass East Comprehensive Care Center, Lexington, Kentucky. Dr. Abramovitz is Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry, Yale University Child Study Center and Hill Health Center. Ms. Storch is a third year medical student at Yale University School of Medicine. This study was supported in part by the Maternal and Child of outpatient mental health services.' The failure of mental health services to meet the needs of children in the lower socioeconomic and minority groups was a major concern of the Joint Commission on Mental Health of Children.2 This study is an attempt to examine the utilization of children's mental health services provided by a neighborhood health service located in a low income community. The children provided with mental health services represent a cohort not seen by traditional mental health services such as child guidance clinics. This study addresses the following questions: * What characteristics describe the children receiving mental health care in an inner city neighborhood health service? * How does the group of children referred for mental health services differ from the group receiving general services and differ from the total population of children in the neighborhood?