Early adolescents entering middle school are at a pivotal developmental phase as they become less dependent on parents/guardians and seek greater autonomy while encountering a complexity of social demands requiring them to regulate their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors to achieve academic and social success. Yet, students who receive services…

Most recent data confirms that the transition and learning "gap between youth and young adults (ages 14-24) with and without disabilities remains significant despite decades of federal and state legislation intended to improve education and employment opportunities" (Cheng & Shaewitz, 2020, p. 28). Researchers have highlighted that…

Eleven states offer 1915(c) Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Medicaid waivers to organize and fund programs that provide in-home and community support services to address the unique needs of children and youth with complex mental health concerns and their families. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic-imposed restrictions on community…

The prevalence of mental health issues among youth, with nearly half meeting diagnostic criteria for a mental health disorder and suicide being a leading cause of death, underscores the urgency for effective intervention (National Institute of Mental Health, 2023). Summer camps, hosting millions of children annually, are urged by the American Camp…

This manuscript provides a detailed examination of comprehensive school-based dialectical behavior therapy (CSB-DBT) as a critical component to the DBT services continuum provided in schools. Because suicide is the second leading cause of death among adolescents along with increased prevalence of self-harming behavior, schools often find…

Healthcare services outside of school impact the likelihood of receiving a school-based special education classification and services. Using Massachusetts administrative data on public school students, this paper employs difference-in-differences to examine the impacts of expanded Medicaid coverage for mental and behavioral healthcare brought by…

Although evidence-based practices (EBPs) exist to support emotional and behavioral health for children and their families, their adoption in community settings remains startlingly low. While therapist training is a promising method to promote the successful adoption of EBPs, there is often a lack of agreement on the foundational skills therapists…

Youth in juvenile justice facilities may experience symptoms of mental health disorders and trauma at a higher rate than their normative peers. As a result, juvenile justice facilities have become de facto mental health agencies, resulting in an increased need to provide interventions that can meet the various needs of their residents. Embedding…

Assessing treatment integrity is essential to understanding how well school-based interventions are delivered. The assessment of treatment integrity is especially challenging for interventions that provide one-on-one peer support over the phone. To address this gap, we explored treatment integrity approaches used for the "Parent…

Assessing treatment integrity is essential to understanding how well school-based interventions are delivered. The assessment of treatment integrity is especially challenging for interventions that provide one-on-one peer support over the phone. To address this gap, we explored treatment integrity approaches used for the "Parent…

Children receiving services for severe emotional and behavioral difficulties are less likely to have parents who are involved in their education and support services. Peer-to-peer family support programs are one approach to increasing the self-efficacy and empowerment of parents' engagement in the treatment of a child's mental health conditions.…

Background: Foreign-born children rarely use traditional school mental health services. Comprehensive programs that combine mental health services with academic, economic, and socioemotional supports reach more foreign-born children and improve well-being. However, little practical guidance exists regarding how to best combine these diverse…

One strategy to improve outcomes for students with emotional and behavioral disorders and their families in rural settings is providing parental support. Through interviews with special education administrators and student services personnel representing several rural regions, this exploratory study sought to identify the needs of youth with…

Given the increasing identification of children with emotional/behavioral disorders (EBD), it is imperative that innovative ways of addressing these concerns are explored. Fewer than half of students identified with mental illness receive treatment, leaving a significant proportion of students to cope with mental illness without support. One…

In the current climate of increasing fiscal and clinical accountability, information is required about overall program effectiveness using clinical data. These requests present a challenge for programs utilizing single-subject data due to the use of highly individualized behavior plans and behavioral monitoring. Subsequently, the diversity of the…