A5 - A Mental Health—Child Welfare Services Collaboration to Improve Behaviors and Placement Stability for Young Children in Foster Care

Young children in foster care are at high risk for mental health problems and placement instability. To address this issue, UC Davis Children’s Hospital, CAARE (Child and Adolescent Abuse Resource and Evaluation) Diagnostic and Treatment Center, is working with county Child Welfare Services to implement Parent-Child Care, a seven-session dyadic intervention for children who have or are at risk of developing externalizing problems, as a preventive service for all children aged 1-5 years in new foster placements. The presenters will share how, through this collaboration, they were able to provide services to children who may not have qualified for mental health treatment, and observed improvements in trauma symptoms, behaviors, relationships, and placement stability.

Presenters: Brandi Hawk and Susan Timmer, University of California-Davis CAARE Center, Sacramento, CA