Overview of programs to prevent mental health problems of children.

This review cannot pretend to be inclusive. Other appropriate facets of prevention for children and youth--parent training, for example, or school-based competence building (affective education)--have not been discussed. What can ADAMHA do to move prevention programs for children and youth forward as its fourth initiative? I offer four suggestions. 1. ADAMHA can promote for various areas of prevention the same kind of cross-project analysis and review that has occurred with respect to early childhood education (7,11). Competence building and education in parenting may be at a point where such an analysis and review might be productive. (38). 2. ADAMHA can lead in establishing, evaluating, and validating service models in a way that frees States and communities to incorporate prevention services into their programs without the burden of proving and reproving the effectiveness of those services. 3. ADAMHA can publicize these evaluated and validated projects in a way which provides adequate information for replication. 4. ADAMHA can join forces with other Federal agencies to accomplish mutual objectives.