Research shows that a substantial number of grandparent caregivers are caring for children with developmental delays or emotional or behavioral problems, and that many caregivers have clinical levels of depression. This study explores grandparent-caregiver families’ mental health needs as well as use of and barriers to accessing mental health services. Interviews with families revealed unmet mental health needs and an interconnectedness between grandchildren's and their grandparent caregivers’ well-being. In the survey component, service providers described problems highly consistent with those reported by grandmothers, including school-related or attention-related concerns among children and depression, stress, and frustration among grandparents. Findings suggest implications for practitioners and policymakers regarding service access, expectations about services, and the fit between clients’ needs and the services available.

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I n this chapter, we argue for closer collaboration between public schools and the public child welfare system, on behalf of children placed at risk, with respect to whether they will do as well in school as their abilities suggest they might, all else being equal. The need for closer collaboration is tied to two developments affecting schools and the child welfare system. First, both systems, as the result of relatively recent federal, state, and local initiatives, are focused on accountability as never before. For schools, accountability fostered by the No Child Left Behind act means that educators have to pay closer attention to children placed at risk who may fall behind in school if their educational needs are not addressed. In this context, the overall well-being of children involved in the child welfare system poses particular challenges because the incidence of cognitive, social, and behavioral impairment is substantially higher than the rates found in the general population. From the perspective of the child welfare system, public agencies are starting to look at school success as a measure of child well-being and as an indicator of their own service quality, an expanded view of responsibility that was introduced in the wake of the Adoption and Safe Families Act passed in 1997. As a consequence, advocates are pushing child welfare agencies to consider placing foster children within their own home school districts in an effort to preserve educational continuity and minimize disruption in the children's lives.In turn, the new wave of accountability has focused attention on the shear magnitude of the dually involved population. According to the most recent national data, of the more than 3 million reports of child maltreatment received annually, about 610,000 school-age children (4-to 17-year-olds) are involved in a substantiated allegation of maltreatment each year, a figure that represents about 70% of all official maltreatment 35