Toward large-scale implementation of empirically supported treatments for children: A review and observations by the Hawaii empirical basis to services task force

This article details the context and findings of a review conducted by a state-established panel established to examine the efficacy and effectiveness of child treatments for Anxiety Disorders, Depression, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Conduct and Oppositional Disorders, and Autistic Disorder. The review emphasizes not only the specific results obtained, but also the process by which a university, Department of Health, and family partnership was established to address specific issues of relevance to statewide implementation of empirically based services. The review of treatment efficacy is consistent with the recent child treatment literaturer and these findings were extended through a systematic cataloguing of effectiveness parameters across more than one hundred treatment outcome studies. The importance of such findings and the process by which they were obtained are discussed in the context of a statewide effort to improve mental health practice for children through the extension and application of much of the work by Division 12 of the American Psychological Association with respect to empirically supported treatments.