Linking mental health and after school systems for children in urban poverty: Preventing problems, promoting possibilities

The current mental health system is failing to meet the extensive needs of children living in urban poverty. After school programs, whose mission includes children's socialization, peer relations, and adaptive functioning, are uniquely positioned to support and promote children's healthy development. We propose that public sector mental health resources can be reallocated to support after school settings, and we offer specific examples and recommendations from an ongoing federally funded program of research to illustrate how mental health consultation can support publicly funded after school programs. In light of the increase in resources of urban, poor communities, consultation to publicly funded after school programs can contribute to the mental health goals of keeping children safe and supervised, promoting their healthy development through academically and socially enriching activities, and identifying children in need of more intensive mental health services.