The Child and Adolescent Service System Program (CASSP) in the mid 1980’s ushered in the community-based system of care model, which has led to widespread reforms for children and adolescents with mental health needs. From the beginning, child psychiatrists have been integrally involved in systems of care and their roles are increasingly diverse nationwide. Attendees of this Special Interest Study Group receive a brief overview of recent trends in systems of care such as innovative funding strategies and mechanisms for integrating services often through a wraparound model of care, updates on evidence-based interventions, application of system of care approaches to infants and young children, integration of mental health services in schools and child welfare and juvenile justice systems, children’s mental health workforce development, and child psychiatrists’ roles in systems of care.

Sponsored by the AACAP Work Group on Community-Based Systems of Care for Children with Serious Emotional Disorders