Help-seeking steps and service use for children in foster care.
This study describes help-seeking steps and service-use patterns for school-age children in foster care. It also examines how these access indices are moderated by sociodemographic, enabling, and child disorder factors. Two home interviews and a telephone teacher interview were conducted using a sample of 302 randomly selected children (age 6-12 years) in foster care. The majority of children (80%) were given a psychiatric diagnosis, and 43% of the foster parents perceived a need for mental health services for the child. In the past year, about one-half of the children had received mental health (51%) and special education services (52%). Age and ethnicity, foster parent education, placement history, level of monthly benefits, number of caseworker visits, and disorder characteristics were related to help-seeking steps and mental health service use. Strategies to improve access to mental health services for children in foster care should include interventions at the caregiver and system levels.
Zima
B T
BT
UCLA Health Services Research Center 90024-6505, USA. bzima@mednet.ucla.edu
Bussing
R
R
Yang
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X
Belin
T R
TR
D002140:California; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005581:Foster Home Care; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008605:Mental Health Services; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care