title: Mental health and behavioral problems of youth in the child welfare system: residential treatment centers compared to therapeutic foster care in the Odyssey Project population.
abstract: This is the first multisite, prospective study of behavioral and mental health disorders of youth in residential treatment centers (RTC) and therapeutic foster care (TFC), and the first study to compare the two. This study addressed two questions in a sample of 22 agencies in 13 states: (1) how prevalent were emotional and behavioral disorders in the youth admitted to RTCs and TFC?, and (2) were the youth in RTCs significantly more likely to be disturbed than youth served in TFCs? Data were drawn from the Time 1 phase of the longitudinal national "Odyssey Project" developed by the Child Welfare League of America (1995). Measures included an extensive child and family characteristics form (CFC) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The results revealed extremely high levels of behavioral and mental health disorders in the sample as a whole, well above the norms for a non-child welfare population. The prevalence of disorder in the RTC population was substantially greater than in the TFC population.
authors.affiliation: Center for Child Welfare Research, The Children's Village, Dobbs Ferry, New York, USA. amyb@nyfoundling.org
authors.forename: Amy J L
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kurland
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Curtis
authors.forename: Gina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Papa-Lentini
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003156:Community Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017831:Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry); D004519:Education, Special / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005581:Foster Home Care / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012114:Residential Treatment / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology