Transitioning Youth into Adult Mental Health and Addiction Services: An Outcomes Evaluation of the Youth Transition Project

Abstract

The Youth Transition Project was designed to provide youth with mental health and addiction issues with individualized transitional care plans as they transition from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to Adult Mental Health Services (AMHS). Over an 18-month period, a total of 127 (59.1%) youth were transitioned and seen by an AMHS provider, 41 (19.1%) remained on a waitlist for services and 47 (21.8%) canceled services. The average time to transition was 110 days (SD = 100). Youth exhibited a wide range of diagnoses; 100% of the population was identified as having serious psychiatric problems. Findings demonstrate that the Youth Transition Project has been successful in promoting continuity of care by transitioning youth seamlessly from youth to adult services. Inconsistencies in wait times and service delivery suggest that further model development is needed to enhance the long-term sustainability of the Youth Transition Project.

Young people, mental health practitioners and researchers co-produce a Transition Preparation Programme to improve outcomes and experience for young people leaving Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)

“…Studies concerning the effectiveness of interventions are rare and many focus on restructured youth services [4, 30] which were not the focus of this study. Many of the themes to emerge from this study aligned with previous research and guidance: the importance of a flexible, gradual, holistic process, individualised transition plans, improved joint working, continuing support and communication between services [3–7, 15–17].…”

Identifying core components and indicators of successful transitions from child to adult mental health services: a scoping review

“…Twelve papers described the need for criteria to assist clinicians and administrators in identifying youth who will be transitioning out of CAMHS prior to the confirmed transition date or deadline [26,52,54,63,64,76,78,80,85,[103][104][105]. Youth frequently transition between services and out of care.…”

“…McManus et al recommend developing specific transition criteria and a process to track and monitor individuals at all stages of the transition [106]. Six sources recommended that this process be facilitated by a flow sheet or log book [50,54,61,76,104,106]. Additionally, the Care Quality Commission [105] of the UK recommended monitoring as an effective way to address wait times and to ensure that there is a standard practice for handling waitlists.…”

“…Transition planning was identified as a core element with several associated components. The need to identify all stakeholders from CAMHS, AMHS, pediatric care, the education system and caregivers who will have a role in the transition was identified in several documents [59,63,75,78,79,104]. Role clarity for all stakeholders is important, particularly when determining which agency takes primary clinical responsibility during the transition process [41,53,58,67,76].…”

Introduction to the Special Section: Positive Developmental Strategies for Engaging Emerging Adults and Improving Outcomes

“…Cappelli et al 8 describe findings from a study of the Youth Transition Project, which was an effort to promote continuity of mental health and addictions care as emerging adults transitioned from child and adolescent mental health services to adult mental health services in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Young people in the study participated in individualized transition care planning aimed at promoting coordination and continuity of care.…”