Quality Service Provision in Children's Mental Health Care

Accountability data are important in this era of streamlined funding for children's mental health services. Documenting high-quality treatment for children and families has become an important facet of program evaluation. In this article, literature concerning quality of care in children's mental health services is reviewed. Information on quality assurance and improvement (QNQI) activities and indicators, measurement issues, barriers, research priorities, and future directions for research are discussed. These activities provide important accountability data that can be used to improve mental health services for children and families. Evaluators need to ensure that knowledge gained from QNQI programs is disseminated to policymakers, the clinical practice and research communities, and the public.