Service System Supports During the Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood: Parent Perspectives

Abstract

Summary: This report marks another important step in the ongoing efforts of the National Technical Assistance Center for State Mental Health Planning (NTAC) to focus attention on the need to improve and expand services and supports for young people with serious emotional disturbances who are making the transition from adolescence to adulthood. With funding from the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) convened a National Experts Meeting on this topic in June 2000 in Washington D.C. NTAC continued its collaboration with CMHSR and funded a national survey of members of the Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health on the transition of children from adolescence to adulthood - from the parent’s perspective. This report, Service Systems Supports During the Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood: Parent Perspectives, describes how parents feel about the quality of transition supports their child receives from various service systems, barriers to services, other system components they thought were important, and policy considerations.