In its current CASSP grant focused on development of services for juvenile offenders South Carolina has demonstrated the efficacy of family preservation services utilizing multisystemic therapy (MST) in preventing out-of-home placement of serious juvenile offenders. The CASSP project has used a true experimental design with collection of data on youth themselves, their families, and the systems with which they are involved. Because the intervention involved in multisystemic therapy is highly flexible (as well as intensive and integrated) and because it differs markedly from office-based interventions for which most mental health professionals are trained, there is a remaining question about whether the intervention can be successfully disseminated. The present project answers that question through replication of the CASSP experiment (conducted in Greenville County) in three other sites in South Carolina: a rural, majority-Black area (Bamberg, Calhoun, and Orangeburg Counties); a rural, majority-White area (Cherokee and Union Counties and southern Spartanburg County); an urban, majority-White area (northern Spartanburg County). Accordingly, the efficacy of the intervention will be tested in diverse sites with variable availability of resources. The project will assess three broad, interrelated levels: (I) short- and long-term effects of MST on the antisocial behavior and psychosocial functioning of serious juvenile offenders; (II) effectiveness of diffusion at successive steps of implementation: (III) systemic effects, including cost-effectiveness.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Demonstration and Dissemination Projects (R18)
Project #
1R18MH048136-01A1
Application #
3442993
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (SRCM (06))
Project Start
1991-09-30
Project End
1994-08-31
Budget Start
1991-09-30
Budget End
1992-08-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
1991
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
South Carolina State Department of Mental Health
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Columbia
State
SC
Country
United States
Zip Code
29201