School absenteeism, mental health problems linked

School absenteeism is a significant problem, and students who are frequently absent from school more often have symptoms of psychiatric disorders. A new longitudinal study of more than 17,000 youths has found that frequently missing school is associated with a higher prevalence of mental health problems later on in adolescence, and that mental health problems during one year also predict missing additional school days in the following year for students in middle and high school social worker continuing education

The study, published in the journal Child Development, was conducted by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of Florida, Boston University, the Child and Adolescent Services Research Center, the Oregon Social Learning Center, and Johns Hopkins University.

"We've long known that students who are frequently absent from school are more likely to have symptoms of psychiatric disorders, but less clear is the reason why," says Jeffrey Wood, associate professor of educational psychology and psychiatry at UCLA, who led the study. "These two aspects of youths' adjustment may at times exacerbate one another, leading over the course of time to more of each."

The study found that between grades 2 and 8, students who already had mental health symptoms (such as antisocial behavior or depression) missed more school days over the course of a year than they had in the previous year and than students with few or no mental health symptoms. Conversely, middle and high school students who were chronically absent in an earlier year of the study tended to have more depression and antisocial problems in subsequent years. For example, 8th graders who were absent more than 20 days were more likely to have higher levels of anxiety and depression in 10th grade than were 8th graders who were absent fewer than 20 days.

"The findings can help inform the development of programs to reduce school absenteeism," according to Wood. "School personnel in middle schools and high schools could benefit from knowing that mental health issues and school absenteeism each influence the other over time. Helping students address mental health issues may in turn help prevent the emergence of chronic absenteeism. At the same time, working to help students who are developing a pattern of chronic absenteeism come to school more consistently may help prevent psychiatric problems."

The researchers looked at more than 17,000 children in 1st through 12th grades using three datasets: the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of adolescents in grades 7 to 12; the Johns Hopkins Prevention Intervention Research Center Study, a longitudinal study of classroom-based interventions involving children in grades 1 to 8; and the Linking the Interests of Families and Teachers trial, a longitudinal study of children in grades 1 through 12.

Researchers interviewed students and parents annually or biennially, and they gathered information from school attendance records. In addition, students, parents, and teachers filled out questionnaires.


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The study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with cooperative funding from 17 other agencies.

ACTION ALERT: MHSA Funding

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ACTION ALERT: MHSA Funding

Governor Schwarzenegger recently released his State Budget proposal for the fiscal year, 2010-2011. The 2010-2011 budget proposes to divert funding from the Mental Health Services Act (Prop. 63) funding into the general fund in order to help address the state’s budget deficit in 2010-11. This proposal would nearly eliminate state funding for the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) Program and significantly reduce state funding for the Medi-Cal Mental Health Managed Care program. As you recall from last year, 65 percent of California voters already rejected this proposal (Proposition 1E), which would have redirected $226 million away from the Mental Health Services Act.





On February 11, 2010, the Assembly Budget Subcommittee will hear and take public comment on the Governor's proposal to divert MHSA funding. This decision on whether to accept the Governor’s proposal will be made by the Legislature during the next few weeks.



If this proposal is adopted, the progress MHSA is making at reducing costly hospitalizations, incarceration, homelessness, school failure, and out-of-home placements could be destroyed. When community services are not available, patients utilize hospitals and emergency rooms imposing high costs on both the state and local governments. Without funds being distributed to combat mental illness, “state and county governments are forced to pay billions of dollars each year in emergency medical care, long-term nursing home care, unemployment, and housing.”[1] Inadequate access to mental health services forces law enforcement officers to serve as the mental health providers of last resort, and this misuse of the corrections’ system costs taxpayers’ money, and creates a lack of law enforcement where necessary. The MHSA is an exceptional first step towards addressing the problem of untreated mental illness for low income families within our society. We therefore urge our members to tell their Legislators that they oppose this proposal.



What can you do? Write a letter to the Assembly and Senate Budget Committees, as well as to the Assembly Members and Senators who represent your community and explain your opposition to cutting MHSA funding and encouraging your legislator to reject the Governor’s proposal to divert MHSA funds to the State General Fund.

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The contact information for the budget committees is as follows:

· Senate Budget Committee: Direct (916) 319-2099 or Fax (916) 323-8386

· Assembly Budget Committee: Direct (916) 651-4103 or Fax (916) 319-2199



If you wish to speak to your legislator directly, to find out which Legislators represent you and your community, simply enter your zip code here: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html



You can also testify in person on February 11, 2010 at the State Capitol, when the Assembly Budget Committee will be taking public comment on this proposal. The Assembly Budget Committee will have a discussion and take public comment on Thursday, February 11th at their hearing, which will be held at 1:00 p.m. in Room 4202 of the State Capitol building in Sacramento .


We all can agree that the state has an economic crisis on its hands. But cutting mental health services to our state’s most vulnerable populations is not the answer. In fact, it will turn those currently receiving services out into the streets and emergency rooms. How can this be a solution to our state’s money problems?

Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Children's and Adolescents' Mental Health

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Online CEUs for MFTs, LCSWs, Social
Workers
Like adults, children and adolescents can have mental health disorders that interfere with the way they think, feel, and act. Mental health influences the ways individuals look at themselves, their lives, and others in their lives. Like physical health, mental health is important at every stage of life.



Child, Adolescent and Family Branch
The Child, Adolescent, and Family Branch of the Federal Center for Mental Health Services promotes and ensures that the mental health needs of children and their families are met within the context of community-based systems of care. Systems of care are developed on the premise that the mental health needs of children, adolescents, and their families can be met within their home, school, and community environments.



Caring for Every Child's Mental Health
Systems of Care the Caring for Every Child's Mental Health communications campaign is a public information and education program to:

Increase public awareness about the importance of protecting and nurturing the mental health of young people.
Foster recognition that many children have mental health problems that are real, painful, and sometimes severe.
Encourage caregivers to seek early, appropriate treatment and services.

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network
The mission of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) is to raise the standard of care and improve access to services for traumatized children, their families and communities throughout the United States. This site includes an article on school planning for disasters and the aftermath of September 11, 2001.



Youth Violence Prevention
The CMHS initiative on school violence focuses on the collective involvement of families, communities, and schools to build resiliency to disruptive behavior disorders.

Make Time to Listen,
Take Time to Talk 15+
The campaign is part of the CMHS School Violence Prevention Initiative and is designed to provide practical guidance to parents and caregivers about "how to" create time to listen and take time to talk with their children.

Listening Dads Are Champs 15+
Children whose fathers are highly involved with them in a positive way do better in school, demonstrate better psychological well-being and lower levels of delinquency, and ultimately attain higher levels of education and economic self-sufficiency.

Family Guide To Keeping Youth Mentally Healthy and Drug Free
A public education Web site, developed to support the efforts of parents and other caring adults to promote mental health and prevent the use of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs among 7- to 18-year-olds.

Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General
This Surgeon General's report seeks to focus on action steps that all Americans can take to help address the problem, and continue to build a legacy of health and safety for our young people and the Nation as a whole.

Publications on Children and Families
Free information from the Center for Mental Health Services about children and families.