This resource library was created to provide the Western New York community with educational materials related to the child welfare and mental health systems, which so often intersect in the care and treatment of our community's youth. These resources focus on three central topics. The first topic is information related to the normal attachment process and how that process (along with other areas of child development) can be disrupted by the experiences of children in the child welfare system. The second topic is information about the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health disorders that commonly afflict children in the child welfare system. The third topic is information to help families and professionals navigate the child welfare and mental health systems in Western New York.
The website's creator, Joshua Russell, MD, is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry affiliated with the University at Buffalo (UB) Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. He is a native of Buffalo, NY, and completed his undergraduate education, medical school, residency, and fellowship through UB. Dr. Russell primarily practices in the outpatient setting while dedicating a portion of his clinical time to providing consultations to primary care providers. He has a particular interest in working with children involved in the child welfare system.
Dr. Russell developed this website through an award sponsored by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Marilyn B. Benoit, MD, Child Maltreatment Mentorship Award, supported by AACAP.
