Research

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All students deserve safe schools and access to mental health supports. Our research informs best practice and policy in school mental health. We study ways to increase access to effective school mental health support. We also study ways to prevent violence and trauma in schools.

Screening

We study ways to identify students who would benefit from extra mental health support.

SAEBRS & I-BEGIN Screeners

We developed a universal screener that identifies school-age children who could use some help building social and emotional skills. This screener is called the Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener or SAEBRS.

For our current project, we are adapting the SAEBRS screener to be used with children ages 3 to 5 who speak English or Spanish. The early childhood screener is called the Identifying Behavioral and Emotional Growth Indicators and Needs screener or I-BEGIN.

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.

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.

Problem Analysis

We develop ways for schools to find the mental health interventions that will meet their unique needs.

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.

042 – Intervention Selection Profile (ISP) – Function Scoring Tool

043 – Intervention Selection Profile (ISP) – Implementation Function Guide

044 – Intervention Selection Profile (ISP) – Function Observation Form

Project ADVICE

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.

Intervention

We find ways to address the mental health needs of students in the classroom.

Check-in/Check-out

Check-In/Check-Out (CICO) is a Tier 2, group-oriented intervention to decrease attention-seeking behaviors. It is designed to provide students with consistent, scheduled adult attention each day.

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.