Little national information is available to help policymakers understand the methods that states use to regulate residential facilities for children with mental illness. This article describes the results of a government-sponsored survey of state officials that examined how states license,...

Children with special health care needs who are enrolled in commercial, employer-based health insurance plans may be at high risk for inadequate access to needed health services. This report provides new and important information on patterns of service use and cost for 30,000 children with...

Using data from two national surveys, this article examines the extent to which residential treatment facilities consistently implement certain practices following incidents of seclusion or restraint. The study found that 76 percent of facilities reported having secluded or restrained youth in...

Although rapidly rising pharmaceutical costs have contributed to increased health expenditures nationwide, few studies have examined this trend in children with special health care needs. This study used data from two large commercial managed care plans in UnitedHealth Group to examine how many...

Strengthening the financing of intensive home and community services for youth with serious emotional disorders (SEDs) brings into play a complex set of policy issues, payment mechanisms, and service system reforms. This report presents critical background information on these topics. It...

The author responds to an article that proposes a mechanism to statistically test the difference in the relative contribution of the size of each parent to a child's birth weight and rate of weight gain during infancy—two factors associated with the development of obesity—urging...

This issue brief describes findings from a national survey of residential treatment facilities (RTFs) serving children and adolescents with serious behavioral health challenges. The survey explored how system of care principles are reflected in RTFs’ policies and practices as well as how RTFs...

Out of every five persons in a commercial health insurance plan who has a chronic condition, one is a child. This first brief in a new series profiles children with disabilities and chronic conditions in commercial plans, who account for more than 70 percent of every dollar spent on child...