EMBEDDING PREVENTION SERVICES WITHIN SYSTEMS OF CARE - STRENGTHENING THE NEXUS FOR CHILDREN

System-of-care models that offer a continuum of integrated mental heal th services for children are being widely implemented in local communi ties. Preventive services, arising from the theoretically grounded pre vention sciences, are an important but neglected component of this mod el. Studies of the use of mental health services by children are revie wed, and an integrative model is proposed to incorporate prevention se rvices as a component of the child mental health service system. Const ruction of the prevention sciences has followed a linear phase model t hat has advantages and disadvantages for bridging prevention sciences and services research. As prevention science progresses into broader h eld tests of its effectiveness, studies of child services can be infor mative, especially in advancing the applicability and dissemination of research findings. Future directions are outlined to strengthen the n exus between services research and prevention science, and to construc t a new genre of prevention services research.