NEWS RELEASE

Media contact : Te Leone (813) 974-8592,
RTC Contact: Catherine Newman, 813-974-8429 or Krista Kutash, 813-974-4622
The de la Parte Institute

" National Conference Scheduled March 3rd For Children’s Mental Health Concerns"

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(Tampa - January 30, 2002)

The Research and Training Center for Children’s Mental Health is hosting its 15th Annual Research Conference: A System of Care for Children’s Mental Health: Expanding the Research Base, March 3 through March 6, 2002 at Tampa’s Hyatt Regency Westshore. This conference, with an attendance of over 700 in 2001, has become one of the country’s leading forums for research on the service delivery systems for children with emotional and behavioral disabilities and their families. Participants include researchers, policy makers, educators, service providers, administrators, advocates, and family members with a common interest in building systems of care to support children and their families in the community.

This year’s keynote addresses, comprising the Gwen Iding Brogden Distinguished Lecture Series, will speak to the themes of evidence-based practice and the evolution of systems of care. Featuring national experts, these sessions define our current understanding of how systems of care are being implemented, and suggest directions for their improvement. The conference’s concurrent sessions offer a variety of paper presentations, symposia, and topical discussions exploring current issues in child mental health services delivery.

Thematic tracks for this year include strategies for implementing and evaluating evidence-based practice in real world settings, outcomes from several aspects of the implementation of the Comprehensive Community Mental Health Services for Children and Their Families Program, and lessons learned from school-based service provision. There will be sessions on methodology, and research specific to early childhood, child welfare, family collaboration in the development of services and evaluation, and access to effective treatment for children and youth with a range of specific emotional/behavioral challenges.

The conference will feature five Intensive Workshops designed to equip participants with knowledge beneficial to researchers in child and family mental health issues. Workshop fees are an additional $50, and CECs will be available.

Workshops topics:

Positive Behavioral Support

Use of Multiple Data Sets to Evaluate Systems of Care

Ethical Issues in Children’s Mental Health Research

Early Intervention to Prevent Antisocial Behavior Among Preschool and Primary Grade Youth

Building Professional/Family Partnerships in Research

Conference Registration prices are:

$325 advance registration (by 02/07/02)

$350 standard registration fee (after 02/07/02)

$200 presenter

$200 Florida resident

$125 students/family members

$50 intensive workshops (in addition to conference registration fees).

For more information contact Catherine Newman at 813/974-8429; email: cnewman@fmhi.usf.edu

The Research and Training Center for Children’s Mental Health is part of the Department of Child and Family Studies at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, University of South Florida, and is funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research of the U.S. Department of Education and the Center for Mental Health Services, SAMHSA. Since its inception in 1984, its mission has been to improve the service delivery systems for children with serious emotional or behavioral disabilities and their families.

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