Programs that serve transition-age youth with serious mental health conditions typically reside in either the child or the adult system. Good service provision calls for interactions among these programs. The objective of this research was to discover programmatic characteristics that facilitate or impede collaboration with programs serving dissimilar age groups, among programs that serve transition-age youth. To examine this "cross-age collaboration," this research used social network analysis methods to generate homophily and heterophily scores in three communities that had received federal grants to improve services for this population. Heterophily scores (i.e., a measure of cross-age collaboration) in programs serving only transition-age youth were significantly higher than the heterophily scores of programs that served only adults or only children. Few other program markers or malleable program factors predicted heterophily. Programs that specialize in serving transition-age youth are a good resource for gaining knowledge of how to bridge adult and child programs.

Objective: Because most programs serve either children and their families or adults, a critical component of service and treatment continuity in mental health and related services for individuals transitioning into adulthood (ages 14-25) is coordination across programs on either side of the adult age divide. Methods: This study was conducted in Clark County, Washington, a community that had received a Partnership for Youth Transition grant from the Federal Center for Mental Health Services. Social Network Analysis methodology was used to describe the strength and direction of each organization's relationship to other organizations in the transition network. Interviews were conducted before grant implementation (n=103) and again four years later (n=99). Results: The findings of the study revealed significant changes in the nature of relationships between organizations over time. While the overall density of the transition service network remained stable, specific ways of connecting did change. Some activities became more decentralized while others became more inclusive as evidenced by the increase in size of the largest K-core. This was particularly true for the activity of "receiving referrals." These changes reflected more direct contact between child and adult serving organizations. Conclusions and Implications for Practice: The two separate child and adult systems identified at baseline appeared more integrated by the end of the grant period. Having greater connectivity among all organizations regardless of ages served should benefit youth and young adults of transition age. This study provides further evidence that Social Network Analysis is a useful method for measuring change in service system integration over time.

Summary: This report summarizes changes between 2003 and 2007 in relationships among organizations that offer services to individuals in transition to adulthood, ages 14‐25, who have serious mental health conditions in Clark County, Washington. In 2002 Clark County received a Partnerships for Youth Transition grant from the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), Division of Service and Systems Improvement, Child, Adolescent and Family Branch. The purpose of these grants was to plan, design, and implement programs to support the transition to adulthood for youth with serious mental health conditions up to age 25 and their families. Services for these youths span child and adult mental health service systems, and many different systems (e.g., vocational rehabilitation, substance abuse, education). Understanding how this vast array of services and systems interacted and changed over the course of the grant helps to identify whether such grants can positively impact the kinds of interactions that facilitate the process of transition for young people maturing into adulthood. While each locale has its own particular set of services, policies, and organizing forces, it is hoped that the findings in this county provide insight into systems in other sites. The primary audience for this report includes policy makers, state and regional administrators, program designers, and others interested in improving the network of services and supports for transition age youth (TAY) from mental health and other systems that TAY are involved with during their transition to adulthood. Others who may be interested in these findings include youth, family members, youth allies, and service providers.

Abstract: All individuals are challenged by the movement from being an adolescent living at home and attending school to being an adult typically heading a household and working to support him or herself. This period of time is called the transition to adulthood and is even more challenging for youth from vulnerable populations such as youth with disabilities, in foster care, in juvenile justice system, and the like (Osgood, Foster, Flanagan, & Ruth, 2005). The ages that transition encompasses have not gained consensus in research literature or policy. It begins at ages 14–16 in policies such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; PL101-476, 1997 and 2004 amendments) or Federal programs such as the Social Security Administration's SSI Youth Transition Demonstration Projects, which identifies ages 22 and 25, respectively, as ending transition. Recent studies on young adulthood in the general population (Settersten, Frustenberg, & Rumbaut, 2005), found that by age 30, the rapid changes of young adulthood had typically stabilized. Thus, using the broadest ages indicated by policy and research, transition to stable adulthood encompasses ages 14–30.

Summary: This report summarizes the nature of the relationships between organizations and agencies in Clark County, WA, that could form a system of services to support youth and young adults with serious mental health conditions during the ages of the transition from adolescence to adulthood (ages 14‐25).