Research – School Mental Health Collaborative

Development and Validation of the Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener for Early Childhood
The primary purpose of this project is to develop and validate a social, emotional, and behavioral risk screener for early childhood. The assessment will be an online and application-based universal screening system available in both English and Spanish. It will be aligned with the Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener (SAEBRS), a universal screener for K–12 settings that has been adopted in all 50 states, with the aim of supporting transition planning between early childhood and K–12 settings as well as informing intervention.

Utilizing discrete event simulation to improve the use of evidence and inform school mental health services
We are developing software to help MTSS teams find the best strategies for improving behavior and mental health in their schools. Our ADVICE software compares the impact and costs of Tier I/II interventions based on school size, need, and resources.

Project MIDAS: Development of a Multi-Informant Decisional Assessment System
The purpose of this project is to develop and validate a multi-informant decisional assessment system (MIDAS) to integrate and use multiple sources of data for accurate and efficient identification of social-emotional and behavioral (SEB) concerns in middle school students.

Evaluation the Efficacy of a Daily Check-in/Check-out Intervention for Students At-Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of Check-in/Check-out (CICO) for improving social, emotional, and academic behavior of elementary school students at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). CICO is a manualized Tier 2 behavioral intervention commonly implemented within a multi-tiered framework and designed to improve the social and behavioral performance of students with emerging problem behavior.

Building an Efficient Targeted Intervention for Students At-Risk for Internalizing Problems: The Resilience Education Program (REP)
The purpose of this project is to further develop and refine the Resilience Education Program (REP). REP is a Tier 2 intervention for elementary students at risk for internalizing problems.

Increasing Access to Equitable Mental Health Services in Madison Schools
Our Madison community benefits from strong school-community partnerships to provide mental health services to students, yet, despite ongoing screening efforts, a large number of students with mental health concerns are not accessing care. Problems with access to effective mental and behavioral health services perpetuate outcome disparities, particularly for racially minoritized youth. Additional data are needed to determine how to improve referral pathways between screening and connection to mental health services. For this study, we are conducting interviews with youth in middle schools for those who have and have not participated in mental health groups to learn more about their experiences accessing supports. These data will help inform future efforts to better identify, inform, and provide services for youth with mental health concerns.

Development of Assessment Tools and Educator Training to Support Tier 2 Behavioral Intervention Selection
The purpose of this project was to support the development and validation of the Intervention Selection Profile (ISP), a suite of brief assessment tools to identify appropriate interventions for students in need of Tier 2 support.

Category: Research