ABSTRACT
The current political climate is ripe to facilitate a surge forward in establishing more collaborations between mental health agencies and the faith community. President Bush has clearly shown his strong support with his 2001 campaign for "charitable choice" and by creating the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, which is under the leadership of John Dilulio, a well-respected political science professor from the University of Pennsylvania. Single agencies or organizations are often not prepared to address the tremendous mental health needs of youth. One strategy for keeping pace with this trend is for children's mental health agencies to
develop collaborative partnerships with faith-based organizations . The fact that such linkages may seem counterintuitive signifies several barriers to such a collaboration that will need to be addressed in order to establish effective partnerships.
