Rosie Cooper

Parenting a child who is seriously emotionally disturbed with violent behaviors is comparable to being an emergency room doctor without training or education. Emergencies and crises are constant. The need for additional help and services from others is critical, but it is lacking. Managing constant crises, attempting to secure services from multiple agencies, coordinating and interpreting (without any training) different and even conflicting treatment plans affect the caregivers and other family members as well as the child who has the problem. The literature is nonexistent on how families perceive their problems, use resources, make home-management plans, and cope with a child with serious emotional disabilities. This article reports the responses of families in Kansas who live with a violent child.