Effect of ethnic matching of young clients and mental health staff.

The results of an analysis of factors affecting service use among children and adolescents suggest that those served by an ethnically matched therapist stay in outpatient treatment longer and use less day treatment service, a more intensive level of care. These findings support efforts to increase the number and type of ethnic staff delivering children's mental health services and to expand the types of culturally competent services available to children with mental health problems and their families.