Characteristics of Children and Adolescents with Serious Emotional Disturbance in Systems of Care. Part II: Community-based Services

This is the second in a series of investigations designed to study the characteristics of children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance (SED) who are currently being served in various systems of care, ranging from community-based services to psychiatric hospitalization and residential placement. The sociodemographic, educational, psychological, and treatment history characteristics of children and adolescents who were provided with community-based services as an alternative to residential placement were examined. Of the 363 children and adolescents who were judged by community service providers to be at imminent risk of residential placement, complete sociodemographic data were available for only 228 (63%). These 228 children and adolescents were grouped according to their school-identified disability status at the time they were targeted to receive community-based services: (a) those identified as SED (54%); (b) those identified with other disabilities, such as mental retardation or learning disabilities (28%); and (c) those with no identified disabilities (18%). The data were analyzed for the total study sample—as well as for the three groups—on the following variables: age, gender, race, referral source, guardianship, living arrangements, special education status, psychotropic medication, criminal record, prior involvement with the service system, and history of residential placement. Significant differences among the three groups were found on a number of variables, including guardianship, medication, criminal record, prior involvement with the service system, and history of residential placement. Findings are discussed in terms of community-based service needs of children and adolescents with SED.