Community Infrastructure Research Articles

Apartament z widokiem na apartament z widokiem. Współczesny rozwój bazy noclegowej w powiecie tatrzańskim z perspektywy lokalnej społeczności

An apartment with a view of an apartment with a view: Contemporary development of accommodation facilities in Tatra County from the perspective of the local community The rapid growth in the number of individual tourist trips to the towns and villages of Podhale, observed nowadays in combination with changes in visitor preferences, in particular the growing share of short stays, higher expectations in terms of standards offered by accommodation facilities and a greater interest in renting separate apartments, coincides with the growing demand for properties to be purchased in tourist resorts in Poland for investment purposes. These processes trigger the expansion of accommodation opportunities, particularly by increasing the number of facilities that offer apartments: houses for rent, self-catering apartment buildings, and aparthotels. Recognising the new trends in the development of accommodation facilities in Tatra County that lead to spatial, social, and economic changes, a study was carried out, aiming to: 1) verify the availability of accommodation facilities, in particular including the scale of the phenomenon of apartment rental of apartments (the data were obtained from available statistical and spatial databases, a field inventory and the Booking.com website), and 2) examine the problems caused by the contemporary development of the accommodation infrastructure in local communities (the data were obtained during interviews with representatives of local communities, n = 74). The study demonstrated well-developed accommodation facilities in Tatra County, characterised by uneven spatial distribution, a large share of informally operating facilities and a rich offer of apartments for rent. The development of accommodation facilities, triggered by mechanisms of the free market, helps to satisfy the fluctuating tourist demand, and consequently to maintain the economic function of tourism in the region. However, on the other hand, it causes numerous spatial and social conflicts. In particular, it leads to excessive intensification of development, dwindling of landscape values, and destruction of cultural heritage (including the vanishing of traditional architecture). Furthermore, it may result in reduced availability of accommodation facilities operated by local residents, as well as in tourism gentrification of Zakopane and loss of the traditional highland character of villages of the Podhale region.

Transformasi Komuniti melalui Perancangan Infrastruktur Komuniti: Kajian Kes di Daerah Song, Sarawak

The development of community infrastructure is fundamental to the socio-economic growth of a region and its community. Nevertheless, the development of rural community infrastructure still remains a challenge in some rural areas which affects the standard of living in the communities. In Malaysia, community infrastructure planning remains a key component of Malaysia’s rural development policies and strategies that needs to be amplified in ensuring the sustainable development of rural areas. This paper examines the role of community infrastructure planning in transforming rural communities’ quality of life which includes the impacts of community infrastructure planning to community’s livelihood transformation and challenges that comes with it. This study adopts the qualitative approach involving semi-structured in-depth interviews with relevant government agencies involved in the rural community infrastructure planning process. Based on a study carried out in Song District, Sarawak, the findings finds that while the respondents agreed that development of community infrastructure in the district have created transformational effects to the communities’ livelihoods, there were various challenges to the delivery of community infrastructure projects to certain areas within the district in addition to satisfying the needs to the community. The discussion suggests that in terms of governance, integration of institutional roles of stakeholders, involving government agencies and community needs to be emphasize in the rural community infrastructure planning process to deal with the many challenges in order to fulfill the rural communities’ needs

Neutralising the digital divide: is blended learning a viable solution?

The digital divide (DD), which refers to the gap resulting from unequal access to digital technology hardware, software and ideological-ware resources, arises from disparities in accessing, material and physical resources that enable internet access. In the contemporary world, this divide extends beyond internet access to include the ability to manipulate educational technologies in the knowledge building process. Therefore, the installation of the internet infrastructure in communities should not be considered as the sole facility to access. In attempting to curb the DD, blended learning is seen to be a possible viable option. It is against this backdrop that this article sought to explore the role of blended learning in neutralising DD. This qualitative case study employed the resources and appropriation theory as a lens to analyse DD as a result of societal inequalities and unequal distribution of resources. The community of Inquiry (COI) framework was also used as a theoretical lens to guide the implementation of social and cognitive knowledge-building in a blended learning context. The reported study employed purposive sampling involving 26 participants who were the recipients of blended learning in one institution of higher learning (HEI) in Lesotho. Data were generated through reflective journals and one-on-one semi-structured interviews, and guided analysis was used to interpret the generated data. The findings established that blended learning has the capacity to neutralise DD, as it affords students the flexibility to design and engage in individualised learning experiences through both offline and online modes of teaching and learning, thereby meeting their access needs. The recommendation proposed in this article, thus, is for HEIs to adopt blended learning to eliminate categorical inequalities and social divisions in education, ideally promoting equilibrated inclusion of individuals from diverse socio-economic backgrounds in the teaching and learning process.

Emunas Chachamim (faith in the sages): A prenatal genetic counseling needs assessment of Orthodox Jewish clergy in Los Angeles.

The Jewish population's high risk for certain genetic conditions is well established. The Orthodox Jewish community, a denomination of the larger Jewish population, has distinct customs and cultural practices and a complex relationship with Western medicine and medical genetics. Clergy play a central role as stakeholders in the Orthodox Jewish community, and their input often informs key medical decisions for their congregants. Orthodox clergy have a unique structure for advising their community members, which is based on Jewish law. A qualitative research methods study was conducted to learn more about the needs of Orthodox Jewish clergy in the greater Los Angeles area with regard to prenatal genetic testing. The present study aims to understand the function of clergy, cultural implications in genetics care, and ways to improve cooperation between clergy and medical providers. 18 clergy members were recruited to join the study, with a 100% participation rate. Thematic analysis of individual interviews highlighted four major themes: the multitude of roles of clergy; pragmatic testing; a need for mutual respect; and interactions between medical providers and clergy. The existing community infrastructure may be used as the framework to provide a greater awareness of genetic care to this community. Future research should be conducted to explore how to improve interactions between genetic counselors and Orthodox Jewish clergy and the best practices for cultural competency.

Quantifying the health impacts of alternative urban development scenarios using the HAUS tool

Abstract Local authorities face a capacity challenge to balance policy considerations when master-planning an area for redevelopment. Effects of redevelopment on residents’ health comprise one competing priority alongside financial viability, sustainability and employment provision. The challenge is not a lack of data, but a lack of accessible tools to help LAs synthesise and interpret complex information about health effects. We address this by creating a health-economic valuation model which allows the user to understand health trade-offs entailed in alternative scenarios and relative to other costs and benefits. The model applies evidence to quantify and monetise the potential impact on health outcomes related to characteristics of the urban environment. The model is driven by a set of 200+ environment-health impact pathways supported by systematic reviews of evidence relating to building design, natural environment, community infrastructure and transport. We estimate the societal value of changes to health using a database of economic values for 70+ physical and mental health outcomes. Values include costs of treatment, productivity loss and pain & suffering associated with ill health, and are disaggregated according to who bears the costs, e.g. NHS, police. Values are modelled for a synthetic population which can be tailored to local contexts, allowing for aggregation. We apply the model to a regeneration site in Bristol, UK, identifying health outcomes resulting from alternative land use scenarios for the site. Model outputs were used to inform the process of developing a Spatial Regeneration Framework and preferred land use scenarios within the regeneration site. Our research helped to widen out the number of health impacts considered by the design team, and to build a strong case for healthy policy options such as enhanced green space within the strategic framework, ensuring that health data can be built into negotiations with developers in the implementation phase. Key messages • Economic valuation of health impacts of urban environment leads to better public health decision-making. • The HAUS model allows better-informed trade-offs between health and urban investment to be made.

Analysis of the Relationship between the Expectations of Local Residents for the Women’s Professional Volleyball Team and Local Image, Social Overhead Capital Perception, and Local Attachment

Establishing a new sports club in the local community is an important factor that can enhance the local image, develop a social infrastructure due to tourist visits, and make residents feel attached to their community. Accordingly, this study examines the relationship between local image, social overhead capital (SOC) recognition, local attachment, and the founding effects of a new women’s professional volleyball team. We analyzed 377 questionnaires using frequency analysis, correlation analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling. The findings reveal that establishing a local women’s professional volleyball team has a statistically non-significant economic expectation effect on the local image and statistically significant cultural and public relations expectation effects on the local image, SOC perception, and local attachment. This results from an investigation into the effectiveness of the AI Peppers on the expected effects of establishing a local professional sports team. In conclusion, creating a local professional sports team can impact the expected cultural promotion effect, e.g., expanding the local community infrastructure, attracting tourists and spectators, and strengthening attachment to residents. Furthermore, it can be presented as an efficient alternative to solve the problems of the professional sports industry centered in metropolitan regions.

How to manage urban disturbances: Focused on social-ecological vulnerability to fine dust pollution

Since the pattern of fine dust pollution varies regionally, it is necessary to identify areas vulnerable to fine dust pollution based on local community and environmental infrastructure and then plan green infrastructure for these areas. The purpose of this study is to analyze the suitability area of green infrastructure systems to improve urban resilience with regards to fine dust pollution. Regarding the research methods, first, a search for previous studies is conducted to establish an evaluation index for the resilience to fine dust pollution. Second, data on the environmental and social factors of the case study site (Suwon, Republic of Korea) are collected and mapped based on the resilience evaluation indices established for fine dust pollution. Third, these indices are used to confirm that regional differences caused by landscape fragmentation exist with regards to resilience to fine dust pollution. This study yields two key outcomes. Firstly, the indicators associated with resilience against fine dust pollution are categorized into environmental and social factors. Environmental factors encompass the composition of pollutants (including concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, NO2, O3, CO, and SO2), proximity to roads, and environmental assets such as well-established roadside green spaces, parks, forests, and thriving vegetation. Meanwhile, social factors incorporate considerations of social welfare services and air pollutant emission facilities. These factors contribute to the comprehensive evaluation indices, encompassing exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity concerning fine dust pollution. Secondly, the spatial analysis of fine dust pollution within the case study area reveals that regions exhibiting robust social-ecological system adaptive capacities tend to demonstrate heightened resilience against fine dust pollution. Conversely, areas characterized by elevated exposure and sensitivity to this issue exhibit reduced resilience. Moreover, the investigation into landscape fragmentation highlights a strong correlation between resilience against fine dust pollution and the fragmentation of green spaces. This study deviates from previous research endeavors through its innovative approach of strategically planning green infrastructure in vulnerable zones, aligning with local characteristics. It further introduces distinct resilience evaluation indicators tailored to fine dust pollution and integrates considerations of the spatial distribution of social-ecological systems, thereby contributing to a nuanced understanding of this complex issue.

Developing financial infrastructure of rural territorial communities in Ukraine through agribusiness entities' statutory payments to local budgets

The goal of this article is to analyse the legal regulation of administration (calculating and paying) of tax payments made by agribusiness entities which are different in organizational and legal terms to the local budgets of rural territorial communities and to make proposals concerning the possible measures for theoretical and legal and practical improvement, ways and methods of supporting the income part of rural local budgets in Ukraine. The methodological basis the system of philosophical (dialectic), general scientific (formal logic, analysis, and synthesis), and special scientific (historical and legal, comparative and legal, logical and systematic, and systematic and functional) methods. The research results are deemed successful as they have demonstrated that agribusiness entities play a significant role in contributing to local budgets. It has been proposed to grant the status of a local resident to taxpayers engaged in business activities on the territory of a rural community. A characterisation has been given to the composition of income of local budgets (tax base) by looking into the set number of national taxes which are passed to local budgets, local taxes, non-tax payments. The practical value of this research lies in a recommendation to rural self-government bodies to ensure the increase in the size of the tax base in their budgets by creating communal agribusiness entities undertaking production activities that will be making statutory payments to the local budget of rural territorial communities.

Perceptions of Urban Community Resilience: Beyond Disaster Recovery in the Face of Climate Change

Resilience of human systems has increasingly become a popular topic of research. The aim of this article is to present a juxtaposition of public officials’ and residents’ perceptions of community resilience along the three-class typology of resilience (basic, adaptive, and transformative) using Dayton, OH as a case study. A two-pronged data collection approach was designed to recruit public officials and residents. This approach was structured using the Community Capitals Framework. A multi-chain referral sampling process (and subsequent snowball sampling) was initiated subsequently. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 75 participants. The interviews were analyzed using a three-tiered deductive structural coding approach. The findings highlight the similarities and differences in resilience perceptions between public officials and community members along the three-class typology of resilience that could inform creative policy initiatives. The factors that might undergird residents’ and public officials’ perceptions of resilience are discussed. Based on these perceptions, the importance of social capital, communication infrastructure, and addressing chronic stressors are discussed as important strategies to build community resilience, in addition to focusing on essential community infrastructure systems (such as roads, energy, water, sewer, and gas systems).

We're all in this together: addressing post-pandemic challenges of Indian rural society

PurposeThis qualitative study explores how technologically challenged Indian rural communities adjusted to the tech-driven work system successfully in the post-pandemic era.Design/methodology/approachQualitative semi-structured interviews with multiple Indian rural households conducted in the years 2021 and 2022 were employed.FindingsThe findings highlight the critical role played by the social capital in addressing the issues that Indian rural communities were facing in their work setting as a direct result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The embedded social network and social values in rural society came to the rescue when other tangible resources were not available for everyone.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to Bourdieu's theory of Social Capital by discovering that social capital can be utilized to gain existential advantages in extraordinary circumstances of (work) life.Practical implicationsPolicymakers should acknowledge the presence of social capital in societies, especially rural ones. Social capital plays a significant role in the execution of relevant society-level tasks and can further help in dealing with certain materialistic impediments.Social implicationsInvestments in community infrastructure, education and communication strategies can enhance social capital's role in crisis response.Originality/valueThis study is original as it is the first one that studies the significance of social capital in a post-pandemic environment, especially when the availability of required technological resources is rare.

Rural Area Infrastructural Challenges and the Role of Architecture in Urban-Rural Development in Nigeria

Urban and rural areas are diametrically opposed but related phenomena. It is often difficult to ascertain where the rural areas end and where the city begins; because in city’s growth process, the surrounding countryside is absorbed. Part of it disappears forever, but many of its elements are preserved, fitting into the urban environment with marked differences of infrastructure facilities. These Community infrastructures are the framework of physical facilities needed to support and sustain inhabitants to live and work. However, rural societies suffer neglect. Many elderly people retire and return to rural areas for the comfort, slow and communal lifestyle it offers. Yet, as the world advances at a rapid pace, rural areas and people are left behind. Employing a qualitative literature review, the study delves into the current state of rural infrastructure development in Nigeria, and review various programmes implemented by the government in years past. The findings reveal three phases of rural infrastructural development. It highlights the issues and challenges stemming from the neglect of rural infrastructural needs, and the role of architecture in facilitating urban-rural development. It concludes that focus must be turned to rural areas with architects playing significant role in advancing the quality of rural life.
 Keywords: Infrastructure facilities, Rural development, Architecture, Environment, Urban-rural.

Accessible satellite data decision support systems for Yurok Tribe forest management

Local decisionmakers managing forests for sequestering carbon and mitigating disturbance face increasing pressures from climate change, while needing to derive revenue from forests resources and balance diverse stakeholder concerns. Decision support systems (DSS) that use freely available satellite data are effective tools for forest management decision-making, due to the broad spatial coverage and temporal consistency of this data. However, the literature demonstrates that many DSS developed by researchers incorporating satellite data are often not utilized by decision makers. This is in part due to a lack of stakeholder engagement in DSS development. Here, we employ an intentional stakeholder engagement process to develop an accessible DSS incorporating satellite data. This process is applied with the Yurok Tribe – an Indigenous community in California – towards the goal of managing forests for carbon sequestration. We use system architecture framework (SAF) to translate stakeholder objectives into targeted analyses and the environment-vulnerability-decision-technology (EVDT) integrated modeling framework to incorporate contextual local infrastructure and land ownership information alongside satellite data analyses. Satellite data analyses classify tree cover and track Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) over time. We compare and show that trends in our analysis agree with independent global tree cover and biomass datasets. These analyses meet the Tribe's objective for tracking forest trends in Yurok carbon sequestration projects, while also detecting undesirable conifer encroachment on culturally-important prairies traditionally managed as open landscapes. Additionally, integration of community infrastructure data alongside satellite-derived drought, forest fire, and smoke density information via EVDT meets another Yurok Tribe objective of identifying negatively impacted Tribal areas for aid allocation. User feedback sessions with participating Yurok Tribe employees assess the prototype DSS and show 80% of users providing high ratings (≥75%) for information accuracy, relevancy, and sufficiency, demonstrating that our DSS development process overcomes previous gaps to DSS use and satellite data accessibility to augment Yurok Tribe forest management decision making.

The Implementation of Village Allocation for Community Facilities and Infrastructure in Sukaharja Village, Karawang Regency

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Analisis Pengelolaan Dana Desa dalam Upaya Pembangunan Infrastruktur dan Pemberdayaan Masyarakat di Desa Bengle Kecamatan Majalaya Kabupaten Karawang

Villages are areas whose main livelihood is agriculture and food production. In Indonesia, a village is a unit of government directly under the subdistrict government at the district level, led by a village head. Many people do not know how much budget realization in the accountability report. In terms of budgeting, the use of village funds in infrastructure development and village community empowerment cannot be said to be transparent. This study aims to explore the management of village funds in community empowerment efforts and infrastructure development in Bengle Majalaya village, Karawang in 2022. The research was conducted using a qualitative method with a descriptive approach. Data collection techniques were carried out by conducting in-depth interviews with the village head, village secretary, village treasurer, village advisory board as resource persons and researchers conducted direct observations. The government has followed the Minister of Home Affairs Regulation No. 20/2018 on Village Financial Management. The village development program is running well by producing sports facilities and infrastructure. However, the community empowerment program in Bengle Village is not running well, due to the lack of community participation in the village.

An assessment of the structure of shea global value chain in Ghana and implication for policy development

The global value chain for shea has witnessed major transformations in the last two decades. This study was aimed at providing a detailed understanding of the structure of the shea value chain in Ghana. Data were collected primarily from primary source and secondary sources. A total of 820 upstream actors, 20 aggregators, 2 processing companies and other experts were interviewed using both closed-ended and open-ended questionnaires to gather qualitative and quantitative data. The study employed the value chain framework to analyse the structure of the shea value chain in Ghana. Data analysis was primarily descriptive in nature. A value chain map, schematic diagram, and flow charts were generated to show the linkages between actors and the flow of resources, materials, products, information, and funds. The results show that the shea value chain is highly gendered, with women at the base of the chain, working as shea kernel producers and processors of crude shea butter, using mainly traditional methods, hence output is sub-optimal. The mid-stream actors were all males, whose main function involves aggregating shea kernels across several communities for industrial processors and export companies. Processing companies, using mechanised methods, process and export several derivatives of shea (shea grits, shea butter, stearin, and olein) to mainly to high-end markets in the E.U and Asia. Though female participation in the shea global value chain is prominent, their output is way too low at the current level to make significant impact. Policy focus must be on supporting upstream actors through the provision of improved processing facilities, community infrastructure, and skills training to enhance the capacity of upstream actors to improve their performance.

Supporting service integration through early childhood education: challenges and opportunities in regional contexts

IntroductionChildren and families residing in regional Australia experience higher rates of vulnerabilities coupled with inadequate access to the early childhood health and early intervention services which pose increased risk to their health, development and wellbeing. The current study was designed to respond to the inherent complexity of supporting effective integrated service provision in regional communities, with a view to develop a model of effective service integration that leverages the capacity and opportunity of universal early childhood education (ECE) provision.MethodThe study adopted a qualitative multiple case study design to explore the perceptions of ECE professionals across six regional ECE services and two early intervention professionals operating from a regional early childhood intervention (ECI) organization. Data included an initial audit of the service system landscape coupled with facilitated discussions (focus groups and interviews) to identify facilitators and challenges to service integration and current patterns of service usage and engagement.ResultsFindings highlighted the foundational importance of relationships for establishing trust, engagement and service sustainability, as well as the need for embedding structural supports, including the professionalization of educators, the utilization of a key worker model, and staff retention. Systemic constraints, including limitations and inconsistencies in community infrastructure, program atrophy, and the complexity of referral systems, were seen to undermine effective service integration.DiscussionFindings speak to the potentiality of the ECE context as a hub for effective service integration within a functional practice framework for ECE. We conclude by offering a suggested model to ensure service connections, and enhance professional capacity and sustainability.

Thoth Archiving Network

Watch VIDEO. Small and scholar-led presses make up much of the “long tail” of publishers without an active preservation policy in place, putting their significant contributions to the scholarly record at risk. As a recent study dissecting the archiving and preservation status of Open Access books suggests, there is “reason for concern for the long tail of OA books distributed at thousands of different web domains as these include volatile cloud storage or sometimes no longer contained the files at all” (Laakso, 2023). And while large-scale publishers have existing agreements with digital preservation archives, such as CLOCKSS and Portico, small presses often languish without financial or institutional support, alongside challenges in technical expertise and staff resources (cf. Barnes et al. 2022). There are similar concerns over the long tail of open access journal publishers and projects like Project JASPER are working on preservation options for OA journals with no current preservation in place. The Thoth Archiving Network, a recently-launched community initiative developed under the remit of the Community-led Open Publication Infrastructures for Monographs (COPIM) project, seeks to address this gap and help small and scholar-led book publishers with finding ways to preserve their publications for generations to come. The Thoth Archiving Network would not solve every issue, but it will be an initial step towards essential community infrastructure, allowing for presses to use a push-button deposit option to archive their publications in multiple repository locations. This will create an opportunity to safeguard against the complete loss of their catalogue should they cease to operate. With this presentation, we would like to provide an overview of the first steps taken so far to establish the Network, with a proof-of-concept now in place that provides a simple dissemination workflow for small publishers to archive their monographs in a network of participating institutional repositories (Internet Archive, Figshare/Loughborough, and, soon, DSpace/Cambridge). Several universities have already expressed their interest, and the team working on the Thoth Archiving Network would like to extend an invitation for more university repositories to take part, particularly from outside the UK. The Thoth Archiving Network receives funding from the Research England Development Fund and Arcadia under the Open Book Futures project grant, which has been awarded to significantly expand and accelerate uptake of the open infrastructures developed in COPIM.

Community and Systems Contributors and Strategies to Reduce Racial Inequities in Maternal Health in the Deep South: Provider Perspectives.

Black pregnant individuals in Alabama are disproportionately affected by severe maternal morbidity and mortality (SMM). To understand why racial disparities in maternal health outcomes persist and identify potential strategies to reduce these inequities, we sought perspectives from obstetric health care providers, health administrators, and members of local organizations who provide pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum care services in Alabama. We conducted qualitative in-depth interviews with stakeholders (n=20), purposively recruited from community-based organizations, clinical settings, government organizations, and academic institutions. Interview guides were based on Howell's conceptual model of pathways to racial disparities in maternal mortality. Data were coded using a modified framework theory approach and analyzed thematically. Racism, unjust laws and policies, and poverty/lack of infrastructure in communities emerged as major themes contributing to racial disparities in maternal health at the community and systems levels. Inadequate health insurance coverage was described as a strong driver of the disparities. Service providers suggested strategies for Alabama should be community focused, evidence based, and culturally sensitive. These should include Medicaid expansion, expanded parental leave, and removal of laws restricting choice. Community- and systems-level interventions should include community infrastructure improvements, choice in maternity services, and provision of digital communication options. Providers shared perspectives on community and structural areas of intervention to reduce racial inequities in SMM. These results can inform discussions with health system and community partners about Alabama and other Deep South initiatives to improve maternal health outcomes in black communities.

The Management of Children and Youth With Pediatric Mental and Behavioral Health Emergencies.

Mental and behavioral health (MBH) emergencies in children and youth continue to increasingly affect not only the emergency department (ED), but the entire spectrum of emergency medical services for children, from prehospital services to the community. Inadequate community and institutional infrastructure to care for children and youth with MBH conditions makes the ED an essential part of the health care safety net for these patients. As a result, an increasing number of children and youth are referred to the ED for evaluation of a broad spectrum of MBH emergencies, from depression and suicidality to disruptive and aggressive behavior. However, challenges in providing optimal care to these patients include lack of personnel, capacity, and infrastructure; challenges with timely access to a mental health professional; the nature of a busy ED environment; and paucity of outpatient post-ED discharge resources. These factors contribute to prolonged ED stays and boarding, which negatively affect patient care and ED operations. Strategies to improve care for MBH emergencies, including systems-level coordination of care, are therefore essential. The goal of this policy statement and its companion technical report is to highlight strategies, resources, and recommendations for improving emergency care delivery for pediatric MBH.

The Management of Children and Youth With Pediatric Mental and Behavioral Health Emergencies

Mental and behavioral health (MBH) emergencies in children and youth continue to increasingly affect not only the emergency department (ED), but the entire spectrum of emergency medical services for children, from prehospital services to the community. Inadequate community and institutional infrastructure to care for children and youth with MBH conditions makes the ED an essential part of the health care safety net for these patients. As a result, an increasing number of children and youth are referred to the ED for evaluation of a broad spectrum of MBH emergencies, from depression and suicidality to disruptive and aggressive behavior. However, challenges in providing optimal care to these patients include lack of personnel, capacity, and infrastructure, challenges with timely access to a mental health professional, the nature of a busy ED environment, and paucity of outpatient post-ED discharge resources. These factors contribute to prolonged ED stays and boarding, which negatively affects patient care and ED operations. Strategies to improve care for MBH emergencies, including systems level coordination of care, is therefore essential. The goal of this policy statement and its companion technical report is to highlight strategies, resources, and recommendations for improving emergency care delivery for pediatric MBH.