Social Work Commons^™

Focal Point, Volume 02 Number 01, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

Adolescents with emotional handicaps experience multiple challenges as they leave youth serving systems and attempt to find their place in society. Without adequate preparation or established linkages to the adult system to facilitate this transition, they are bound to become lost until their symptoms dictate intervention. Service delivery efforts must be sensitive to these issues and begin to realistically address the transition needs of this population. A framework which can be used as a guide for developing transition oriented programs and nine integrative principles will be discussed hear as a means to stimulate thinking about the provision of transition services.

Focal Point, Volume 01 Number 03, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

Therapeutic Case Advocacy (TCA) is one approach to helping emotionally handicapped children and their families. It is described here as a multi-level model to improve services for this population for two reasons. First, the approach typically requires planned, coordinated activity on three levels: the child and family, the lead organization providing services, and interagency collaboration. Second, the word "model" conveys the idea of what the real thing might look like.

The model is a preliminary pattern, a plan for guiding the actual process of helping emotionally handicapped children and their families. It is not a recipe. Any actual process of …

Focal Point, Volume 01 Number 02, Portland State University. Regional Research Institute

Research and Training Center - Focal Point

This issue of Focal Point features the Families as Allies Project, which is designed to promote collaboration between families of children with emotional handicaps and the professionals who serve them. Project objectives include conducting relevant research, developing training curricula and other written materials, and designing and presenting workshops and other training events.

Included in this issue is a report about an April, 1986 conference held in Portland that involved equal numbers of parents and professionals from thirteen western states. This meeting was one of the first public explorations of our project concepts, and we were very gratified by the positive …