Assertive Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAHMS) were trialled in three sites in NSW by the NSW Ministry of Health in response to the lack of access to services for many children and families. Assertive CAHMS involves an interdisciplinary approach which provides services to families in non-clinical settings such as schools, and actively engages with families who have been referred. This evaluation ran for 2.5 years from June 2012 and primarily focused on the implementation of Assertive CAMHS, identifying the barriers and facilitating factors to effective implementation of the program. The evaluation involved a range of methods including analysis of program data and interviews with key stakeholders in the three sites.

Research Centre

Social Policy Research Centre

Research Area

Disability | Policy Design, Impact and Evaluation

NSW Ministry of Health

Christine Eastman (University of Melbourne)

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