Research & Evaluation
When CASA Child, Adolescent, and Family Mental Health was formed in 1989, the Board of Directors decided to support ongoing research and program evaluation as essential parts of the organization. The Research Department has since evolved.
Today, the Research Team is responsible for more than just evaluations of CASA’s current programs and research into children’s mental health. The team is also mandated with informing the CASA population about current research that improves our understanding of children’s mental health and allows us to understand appropriate prevention and treatment strategies and innovate accordingly. As such, we are involved in maintaining standardized approaches between different teams in the organization, improving program fidelity and maintaining quality. Also, the Research Department works with partners to develop original research, striving to increase our understanding of child and adolescent mental health from a biopsychosocial perspective.
Our understanding of mental health and the foundations of behavioural and neurodevelopmental problems, as well as the consequences of their treatment, is increasing. Developing an understanding of new and innovative approaches to the care of children and adolescents is key to providing effective mental health services. The information collected and provided by the Research Team assists in improving the treatment provided to these children.
