Identification of Mental Health Service Need Among Youth in Child Welfare

Despite the recognized importance of mental health concerns among youth in the child welfare population, data suggest a significant gap between children who need services and children who receive services. This paper aims to address this problem by focusing on the ways in which the system identifies-or fails to identify-children as needing mental health services. The paper reviews current guidelines, policies, and practices for mental health screening and assessment of youth in child welfare including available evidence-based screening instruments that have been evaluated in child welfare or other settings. It is concluded that the use of evidence-based screening and assessment instruments will improve the identification of children needing mental health services and offer the opportunity to provide appropriate care to children who are currently being overlooked.