Several professional and advocacy organization provide useful links for practitioners who treat children in foster care. You do not need to be a member to get valuable information from the websites listed below. The general website information is accessible to the general public and serves as great resources to family members, foster parents, guardians ad litem and agency staff.
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY (AACAP) www.aacap.org
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) offers information on clinical care and quality improvement here. On this site practitioners and families can access:
- Practice Parameters for a variety of disorders, including ADHD, anxiety, depression, or bipolar disorder and for general aspects of child and adolescent psychiatry practice, such as using psychotropic medications.
- Facts for Families on multiple topics, in English and Spanish. Facts for Families are useful as handouts or as a web-based resource for families with access to the internet.
- Parents Med Guide for ADHD medication and for antidepressants.
- Resource Centers for a variety of disorders, aimed at providing consumer-friendly information, videos and other educational resources.
CHILDREN AND ADULTS WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT /HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (CHADD) www.chadd.org
CHADD is an excellent national resource for families who have family members with ADHD and want to learn more about ADHD, so they can be effective advocates. CHADD is closely linked to the National Resource Center on ADHD which offers excellent information on medication management for caregivers and professionals.
NATIONAL ALLIANCE ON MENTAL ILLNESS (NAMI) www.nami.org
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is an excellent national resource for families who have family members with a mental illness. NAMI has chapters in most Florida counties, and contact information can be found here. The NAMI website provides an excellent family guide for families who want to learn more about evidence-based mental health treatments for children.
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH (NIMH) www.nimh.nih.gov
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) website can be searched for child and adolescent topics. Of particular use are the following resources:
- Family guide on mental health medications. It addressing types of medications used to treat mental disorders, possible side effects, directions for taking the medications and FDA warning regarding medications. This guide can be accessed here or by downloading the PDF.
- Facts sheets for common disorders like ADHD, anxiety, bipolar or depression, or about brain development.
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) guide. It explains symptoms, detection and treatment. It can be accessed here or by downloading the PDF.