Mental health services for children in the first two years after the 1995 Oklahoma city terrorist bombing

Nineteen infants and children were killed in the 1995 terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City; and many were injured. More than 200 children lost one or bo dy parents. These casualties focused attention on children in the disaster response efforts. This paper describes the development and implementation o f a school-based mental health program that provided accessible services to children affected by the bombing, with an emphasis on normalization. A cli nical needs assessment of all children in the Oklahoma City public school s ystem was carried out, and clinicians provided emergency and crisis service s, counseling, and support groups.