Dear Fellow Citizen of the Commonwealth:

It is my pleasure as Chair of the General Assembly’s Commission on Youth to present the 6th Edition of the Collection of Evidence-based Practices for Children and Adolescents with Mental Health Treatment Needs. The Collection summarizes current research on those mental health treatments that have been proven to be effective in treating children and adolescents. The Collection is intended to serve a broad readership, including educators, service providers, parents, caregivers, and others seeking information on evidence-based mental health practices for youth.

Section 30-174 of the Code of Virginia establishes the Virginia Commission on Youth and directs the Commission to “study and provide recommendations addressing the needs of and services to the Commonwealth’s youth and their families." This section also directs the Commission to “encourage the development of uniform policies and services to youth across the Commonwealth and provide a forum for continuing review and study of such services."

The 2002 General Assembly, through Senate Joint Resolution 99, directed the Virginia Commission on Youth to coordinate the collection of empirically-based information to identify the treatments that are recognized as effective for children, including juvenile offenders, who have mental health treatment needs, symptoms, and disorders. The resulting publication entitled Collection of Evidence-based Practices for Children and Adolescents with Mental Health Treatment Needs was compiled by the Commission with the assistance of an advisory group of experts pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 99. The Collection was published in House Document 9 and presented to the Governor and the 2003 General Assembly.

To ensure that this information remained current and reached the intended audience, the 2003 General Assembly passed Senate Joint Resolution 358, which requires the Commission on Youth to update the Collection biennially. The resolution also requires the Commission to disseminate the Collection via web technologies. The Secretaries of Health and Human Resources, Public Safety and Education, along with the Advisory Group, were requested to assist the Commission in updating the Collection, as were various state and local agencies. Since 2003, the Commission has updated this resource and made it available through the Commission on Youth website and in print editions.

The Commission on Youth gratefully acknowledges the contributions of its Advisory Group members. For more information about the Virginia Commission on Youth or the Collection, I encourage you to visit our website at http://vcoy.virginia.gov.

Sincerely,

/s/ Barbara A. Favola