ADD/ADHD

• C.H.A.D.D.
  For children and adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
  
  

Adoption

• Adoption Tax Credit
  Claiming the Federal Adoption Tax Credit for Special Needs Adoptions (updated March 2009). (pdf)
• California Association of Adoption Agencies
  Includes most licensed adoption agencies in the state with 85 members. Both public and private agencies statewide are joined with others interested in adoption issues to advocate for healthy adoption practice.
• California Kids Connection
  The State of California's online photolisting of children in foster care in California who are available for adoption.
• Voice for Adoption
  

  Voice for Adoption (VFA) develops and advocates for improved adoption policies. Recognized as a national leader in special needs adoption.
  

Bipolar Disorders

• The Bipolar Child
  Information and articles about bipolar disorders in children.
• The Child & Adolescent Bipolar Foundation
  The Learning Center section of this website has many articles about early-onset bipolar disorders. The website also has message boards, chat rooms, and online support groups.

Child Sexual Abuse

• American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
  Article about child sexual abuse.
• Child Trauma Academy
  Article about sexual abuse of children.
• Children’s Medical Services
  Information about child sexual abuse, from the Florida Department of Health Children’s Medical Services Sexual Abuse Treatment Program.
• Darkness to Light
  Raises awareness of the prevalence and consequences of child sexual abuse by educating adults about the steps they can take to prevent, recognize and react responsibly to the reality of child sexual abuse.
  
• Stop It Now!
  Answers to commonly asked questions about child sexual abuse.
• Survivors Healing Center
  Education, information, referrals, services and support for survivors of childhood sexual abuse.

Children's Issues and Advocacy

• The Brookings Institution, Center on Children and Families
  Research on the well-being of America's children and their families.
• Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago
  Research to improve social services for children and adolescents.
• The ChildTrauma Academy
  A  non-profit organization, based in Houston, as a unique collaborative of individuals and organizations working to improve the lives of high-risk children through direct service, research and education.
• Child Welfare League of America
  Coalition of hundreds of private and public agencies serving vulnerable children and families on policies, programs, and practices.
  
• Children's Defense Fund
  Fact sheets on children's issues, including information about children's mental health.
• Children NOW
  A national organization for people who want to make sure children are a top public policy priority.
• Children's Rights
  National advocacy group working to reform failing child welfare systems on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of abused and neglected children who depend on them for protection and care.
• Connect For Kids
• Council on Accreditation (COA)
  Partners with human service organizations worldwide to improve service delivery outcomes by developing, applying, and promoting accreditation standards. 
• Every Child Matters
  This organization works to focus public attention on children's issues.
• Mental Health National Anti Stigma Campaign
  A national campaign to encourage people between 18 and 25 to support their friends who are experiencing mental health problems.
• National Center for Youth Law
  The National Center for Youth Law works to ensure that low-income children have the resources, support, and opportunities they need for a healthy and productive future.
• National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice
  This organization's goal is to infuse family-centered principles and practices into the child welfare system.
• Prevent Child Abuse America
  Awareness and education to prevent abuse and neglect.
• United Way California Capital Region
  United Way California Capital Region’s vision is to build stronger, healthier, more compassionate communities in our region by partnering with local employers and nonprofits to improve people’s lives.
• The Urban Institute
  A non-partisan economic and social policy research organization.
• Women In Government
• Youth Involvement in Systems of Care: A Guide to Youth Empowerment (100 page PDF)
  How young people can become involved in the mental health care system that serves them.

Crisis

• KidsPeace: The National Center for Kids Overcoming Crisis
  For families and kids dealing with crisis.
• The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)
  Works to raise the standard of care and improve access to services for traumatized children, their families and communities throughout the United States.

Family Finding/Foster Care

• California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care
  The charge of the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care is to provide recommendations to the California Judicial Council on the ways in which the courts and their partners can improve safety, permanency, well-being, and fairness outcomes for children and families. Learn more about the commission and its draft recommendations at www.courtinfo.ca.gov/blueribbon.
• California Youth Connection
  

  Guided, focused and driven by current and former foster youth with the assistance of other committed community members. Promotes policy development and legislatvie change to improve the foster care system and improve social work practice and child welfare policy. 

• California Permanency for Youth Project
  Dedicated to assuring that no youth will leave the California child welfare system without a permanent lifelong connection to a caring adult.

• Casey Familiy Programs
  Casey Family Programs is the nation’s largest operating foundation entirely focused on foster care. Works to provide and improve foster care in the United States.
• Catholic Charities of Western Washington
  Information on Family Finding services.
• Destination Family
  This organization works to creates lifelong family connections for Sacramento, Nevada and Placer County foster youth between the ages of 11 and 18. The goal is that by the end of 2008, no youth will age out of foster care without a permanent family connection that is as legally, emotionally, and physically secure as possible.
• A Family for Every Child: Strategies to Achieve Permanence for Older Foster Children and Youth by the North American Council on Adoptable Children for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, August 2005.
• Foster Ed Connect
  A site for all people helping children and youth in California's foster care system succeed in school.
• Foster Family Based Treatment Association
  

  The Foster Family-based Treatment Association strengthens agencies that support families caring for vulnerable children. The Foster Family-based Treatment Association (FFTA) is an agency-led organization of treatment foster care providers established in 1988 with an initial purpose of defining and refining Treatment Foster Care practices.

• Foster Youth Alliance
  A coalition of youth, service providers, and community organizations in Alameda County, California. Foster Youth Alliance is dedicated to empowering foster youth as they transition to adulthood.
• Legal Center for Foster Care & Education
  A national technical assistance resource and information clearinghouse on legal and policy matters affecting the education of children in the foster care system. It provides a searchable database of legal and policy resources and houses announcements of events and newly developed information.
• National Foster Care Month
  May is National Foster Care Month.
• New York State Citizen's Coalition for Children
  Support, information and advocacy for foster and adoptive parents and professionals in New York State.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

• The FASD Center
  A federal government website devoted to the topic of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (disorders occurring in children whose mothers drank alcohol during pregnancy).
• FAS World
  Resources and information about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
  Information on a range of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. Includes bulletin boards for parents, and links to other sites.

Juvenile Justice (Cost of)

• Criminal Justice Statistic Center
  How much does crime cost?
• Department of Justice FY2005 budget and performance summary.
• Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice (2005).
• Friends Outside in Santa Clara County (2003)
  Issues and trends facing criminal justice.
• Justice Policy Institute (2006)
  Cost-Effective youth corrections: Rationalizing the fiscal architecture of juvenile justice system.
• Legislative Analyst’s Office (2006)
  Analysis of the 2006-07 budget bill. Retrieved June.
• National Center for Juvenile Justice (2003)
• Stanford Forum on Juvenile Justice Reform (2005)
  DJJ institutions cost more than $120,000 per youth in FY05-06.
• U.S. House of Representatives (2004)
  Incarceration of youth who are waiting for community mental health services in the U.S.
• Warren, N. (2006)
  The juvenile justice system, youthful offenders and racial disparity.

Mental Health

• American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
  Helps parents and families understand developmental, behavioral, emotional and mental disorders affecting children and adolescents.
• BC Family Productions
  Family website for training and education regarding children’s mental health.
• California Department of Mental Health
  Information about the Mental Health Services Act (prop 63), and links to other mental health websites.
• Georgetown University Child Development Centers
  Center for Child Health and Mental Health Policy.
• DEPRESSION: Out of the Shadows
  Documentary on PBS, followed by a panel discussion with NAMI medical director Ken Duckworth, M.D., moderated by broadcast journalist Jane Pauley.
• Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General
  The Surgeon General’s 1999 report on the topic of mental health and mental illness.
• Mental Health Resources and Organizations
  A list of California mental health organizations and related websites, from the California Department of Mental Health.
• National Alliance on Mental Illness
  Information, support and resources about mental illness.
• NADD: The National Association for the Dually Diagnosed
  Provides education, training, and information on mental health issues relating to persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
• National Mental Health Association
  Mental health advocacy, public education, research, services.
• President's New Freedom Commission Report on Mental Health
  A 2002-2003 national study of public and private mental health systems.
• Reality Check
  For youth with mental illness.
• Research & Training Center for Children's Mental Health
  A research and training center at the University of South Florida. The Center conducts research and provides training in the children's mental health area.
• Research & Training Center on Family Support and Children's Mental Health
  A research and training center at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. The Center is dedicated to promoting services for families and their children who are affected by mental, emotional or behavioral disorders.
• SAMHSA Mental Health Dictionary
  From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
• Santa Clara County, Mental Health Department
  Information about the Mental Health Services Act (prop 63) and about mental health services in Santa Clara County.
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
  Information about mental health, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
• True Life: I Have Schizophrenia
  Part of the award-winning MTV documentary series that explores issues affecting young people.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder

• A Place For Us
  Parent message board, links to information about conduct disorders, Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), and related problems.
• Oppositional Defiant Disorder: What is it?
  Informational pamphlet.

Parent Resources

• African American Community Service Agency
  Acts as a clearinghouse/resource center for African American Services in Santa Clara County.
  
• American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's "Facts on Families"
  A useful booklet for families.
• BC Family Productions
  Family website for training and education regarding children’s mental health.
• Center for the Advancement of Children's Mental Health
  This Columbia University website has links to various resources, including disorder profiles and treatment options. It also identifies science-based "best practices" and reviews current scientific findings.
• Family Resource Center
  Association of family services organizations in Redmond, Washington.
• Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health
  Information on research, prevention, early intervention, education, and transition centers.
• KidsCal: Children's Health Events for Families
  Lucile Packard Foundation's calendar of children's health events sponsored by nonprofit organizations in Santa Clara County and San Mateo County.
• KidsData
  Information about kids' health and well-being in Santa Clara County and San Mateo County. Includes a list of agencies that can help.
• KidsHealth from the Nemours Foundation
  Children's health information for families.
• NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
  National mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of persons living with serious mental illness and their families. The website offers general information about mental illness, as well as information about specific illnesses. NAMI publishes a useful booklet, "Parents and Teachers as Allies," that describes the symptoms of childhood onset of various mental illnesses. You can order the booklet here.
• National Association for the Dually Diagnosed (NADD)
  An association for people who have been diagnosed with an intellectual or developmental disability in addition to mental illness.
• Network of Care for Mental Health, San Bernardino County
  Information about mental health services, laws, and related news, as well as communication tools and other features.
• New York University Child Study Center
  Child mental health information, and information about parenting issues.
• Parents Helping Parents
  Information, guidance, and peer support for parents of Santa Clara County children who have childhood disabilities including, but not limited to, physical, intellectual, or learning disabilities and/or special healthcare needs.
• The Preteen Alliance
  News and data about the emotional health of children ages 9-13 in San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties. The Preteen Alliance also holds periodic meetings. Sponsored by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health.
• Reality Check
  For youth with mental illness.

Wraparound

• The National Wraparound Initiative
  Brings together experts from across the nation to establish definitions and guidelines to assure high-fidelity standards for Wraparound programs.

Other Resources

• Autism Neighborhood
  Series of interviews with experts and professionals in the field and individuals and families with autism.
• Council for Exceptional Children
  An organization for professionals who work with children with special education needs.
• EdSource Online
  News and data on California education policy.
• Ed-Data
  Fiscal, demographic and performance data on California's K-12 schools.
• Implementation Research: A Synthesis of the Literature
  For professionals in the mental health and human services fields. Includes practical advice for getting evidence-based practices and programs off the ground successfully.
• International Child and Youth Care Network
  A network for professionals who work in the child and youth care fields.
• National Council For Community Behavioral Healthcare
  A national association of community providers who together care for 6 million adults and children across the U.S. who suffer from mental illnesses, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse disorders.
• National Technical Assistance Center on Youth Transition
  The Center assists in the development, implementation, and improvement of programs for youth in transition at five sites across the nation.
• Re-Play
  In an increasingly stringent economic landscape, physical education is taking a back seat to general education in an era of diminishing funding. RE-PLAY takes viable equipment that is not being used and redistributesit within the community.
• SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices (NREPP)
  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) searchable database of interventions for the prevention and treatment of mental and substance use disorders.
• Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS)
  A six-year study of special education students. The study points to factors that correlate with students' developmental growth.
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Children's Program
  The federal agency responsible for assisting States in the delivery of child welfare services.

• Rotary Club of Davis