Youth residential mental health care is often a last resort after a long time searching for help. Despite engaging with residential care, moving from residential mental health programs to life in the community, many youth still confront disturbing prospects. Incorporating vignettes, chapter summaries, as well as theory and evidence in fields such as education, juvenile justice, child welfare, independent living, supporting families, and positive youth development, this book proposes a template that is both credible and feasible for improving community living outcomes for youth leaving residential mental health programs.

Gary Cameron is the Lyle S. Hallman Chair of Child and Family Welfare at the Faculty of Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University. His current program of research focuses on the lives of families involved in child welfare and children’s mental health services, international comparisons of systems of child and family welfare, and systems of care for children and families involved in residential mental health placements.

Nick Coady has been with the Faculty of Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University since 1994. His teaching and research interests focus on the importance of relationship and other common factors in social work practice. Recent publications include a co-edited textbook on theories for clinical social work and a journal site on good helping relationships in child welfare.

Gerald R. Adams is a professor of family relations and human development at the University of Guelph. He is interested in the study of adolescence to adulthood, and identity development during childhood and adolescence. Recent books include the Blackwell Handbook on Adolescence and the Handbook of Adolescent Behavioral Problems: Evidence-Based Approaches to Prevention and Treatment.

Gary Cameron's profile page

Karen M. Frensch was the research project manager for the Partnerships for Children and Families Project in the Faculty of Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University from 2000-2019.

Karen M. Frensch's profile page

Trudy Smit Quosai is currently the CEO of the Gambling Research Exchange, an organization that mobilizes knowledge to reduce gambling harms.

Trudy Smit Quosai's profile page

Mark Pancer is professor emeritus in the Department of Psychology at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Mark Pancer's profile page

Michele Preyde is a professor in the Department of Family Relations & Applies Nutrition at the University of Guelph.

Michele Preyde's profile page

"This book is an outstanding accomplishment, representing a definitive portrayal of past, present, and future. It should be required reading for any professional working to design and implement remedial programs for children and youth in residential treatment. This is particularly true for social workers and all students preparing for treatment-related careers serving children and youth."

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