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A recently defined interconnected systems framework (ISF) provides explicit guidance on steps to align positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) and expanded school mental health (SMH) within the multitiered system of support (MTSS). As PBIS and SMH strategies align, there are opportunities to expand and improve effective programs and services for students at all tiers of the MTSS. A prominent need is to improve programs and services for students presenting "internalizing" disorders such as those related to trauma, depression, and anxiety. In this article, we discuss relevant issues involved in improving multitiered systems/interventions for students presenting internalizing problems and provide guidance for this work in dimensions of cross-system collaboration (with major emphasis on effective teams), implementing evidence-based practices, and data-based decision making/quality improvement. The article concludes with recommendations for practice, research, and policy to improve MTSS for students presenting internalizing problems.

The need for an increased understanding of secondary and tertiary supports within a school-wide positive behavior support framework in high schools is discussed. Outcome data such as discipline referrals sent to the office seem to indicate that school-wide applications of positive behavior support can decrease the proportion of students who require more intensive supports. While limited information is available on high school level supports, connections can be made with cutting edge research on self-determination and increased student participation in buy-in to the overall process. Connecting individualized supports to the overall curriculum of the schools appears to have implications for increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of supports in secondary school settings. (Contains 1 table and 3 figures.)

Positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) and school mental health (SMH) are prominent initiatives in the United States to improve student behavior and promote mental health and wellness, led by education and mental health systems, respectively. Unfortunately, PBIS and SMH often operate separately in districts and schools, resulting in a number of missed opportunities for interconnecting programs and services and increasing their depth and quality within multi-tiered frameworks of prevention, support, and intervention. The current article details a necessary first step in the process of improved interconnection of these two frameworks by describing the development of a process and tool for schools/districts to assess readiness for connecting PBIS and SMH through a blended system. Relevant literature, pilot data, and methodology are discussed, in addition to psychometric properties of the survey and future applications of this instrument for practice, research, and policy.

Check-In, Check-Out (CICO) is one of the most widely implemented Tier 2 behavior interventions in a school-wide system of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS). Much literature has documented implementation of CICO across individual schools or districts. The Illinois PBIS Network, currently known as the Midwest PBIS Network, has provided extensive training and technical assistance (TA) on CICO with more than 400 schools in more than 125 districts. The purpose of this descriptive study was to detail the training process for implementation of CICO across 441 schools, evaluate student success based on Daily Progress Reports (DPRs), and document fidelity and implementation on a subset of 41 elementary and 13 middle schools. Results indicated more than 80% of students earned at least 80% of their DPR points, the majority of schools implemented CICO with more than 70% fidelity, and schools were able to support between 7% and 12% of student population on CICO. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are included.

Scaling of evidence-based practices in education has received extensive discussion but little empirical evaluation. We present here a descriptive summary of the experience from seven states with a history of implementing and scaling School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) over the past decade. Each state has been successful in establishing at least 500 schools using SWPBIS across approximately a third or more of the schools in their state. The implementation elements proposed by Sugai, Horner, and Lewis (2009) and the stages of implementation described by Fixsen, Naoom, Blase, Friedman, and Wallace (2005) were used within a survey with each element assessed at each stage by the SWPBIS coordinators and policy makers in the seven states. Consistent themes from analysis of the responses were defined and confirmed with the surveyed participants. Results point to four central areas of state "capacity" as being perceived as critical for a state to move SWPBIS to scale (administrative leadership and funding, local training and coaching capacity, behavioral expertise, and local evaluation capacity), and an iterative process in which initial implementation success (100-200 demonstrations) is needed to recruit the political and fiscal support required for larger scaling efforts.

More than 1,000 Illinois schools are implementing schoolwide positive behavior support (SWPBS) to enhance outcomes for students and staff. Consequently, Illinois established layered support structures to facilitate scaling up SWPBS. This paper describes the development of this infrastructure and presents the results of HLM analyses exploring the effects of implementing SWPBS, with and without fidelity across time, on student behavior and academic outcomes (office discipline referrals, suspensions, and state-wide test scores in reading and math) for a sample of 428 Illinois schools implementing SWPBS. Results indicate that (a) most schools implemented with fidelity and maintained or improved student performance across time and (b) implementation fidelity was associated with improved social outcomes and academic outcomes in math. Study limitations and implications are discussed. (Contains 2 tables, 1 figure, and 2 notes.)

We describe the structure for implementation of the wraparound process within a multi-tiered system of school wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) to address the needs of the 1-5% of students with complex emotional/behavioral challenges. The installation of prerequisite system features that, based on a 3 year demonstration process, we consider critical to full operation of the Tier 3 wraparound intervention within a system of SWPBS is also described. We include examples of system implementation benchmarks that occur concurrently with student outcome data and are logically linked to full operation and sustainability of wraparound implementation. Challenges surrounding implementation and proposed advancements are also discussed. (Contains 2 figures.)

We report a randomized, wait-list controlled trial assessing the effects of school-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS). An effectiveness analysis was conducted with elementary schools in Hawaii and Illinois where training and technical assistance in SWPBS was provided by regular state personnel over a 3-year period. Results document that the training and technical assistance were functionally related to improved implementation of universal-level SWPBS practices. Improved use of SWPBS was functionally related to improvements in the perceived safety of the school setting and the proportion of third graders meeting or exceeding state reading assessment standards. Results also document that levels of office discipline referrals were comparatively low, but the absence of experimental control for this variable precludes inference about the impact of SWPBS. Implications for future research directions are offered. (Contains 3 tables.)

If a student has multiple behavior problems that escalate over time and across different settings, school-based problem-solving teams can become quickly overwhelmed, especially when educators identify "setting events" for problem behaviors that have occurred outside of school and are beyond the control of school personnel. Instead of resorting to exclusion or restrictive placements, schools need to be able to implement proactive interventions that match the complexity and intensity of the student's needs. A function-based individualized behavior intervention plan (BIP) has been described as an important foundation for tertiary tier support; however, identifying the function and designing a specific behavior support plan around problem behavior may be insufficient to prevent more failure--and may be potentially more restrictive or punitive for students. This article discusses the wraparound process, a comprehensive intervention for the 1% to 2% of students with the highest level of emotional/behavioral need. As the most complex intervention in the schoolwide positive behavior support (SWPBS) response-to-intervention continuum, wraparound includes specific engagement techniques to ensure that the design of supports and interventions incorporate the voice and perspectives of the family, student, and teacher. The strength-based wraparound approach deliberately builds constructive relationships and support networks among the student, family, and other key adults, including teachers. Addressing the needs of the adults (e.g., family and teacher) is considered critical to ensuring success for the student at school, at home, and in the community. (Contains 1 table, 2 figures, 1 resource and 6 online resources.)

School-wide positive behavior support (SWPBS) is a systematic and effective approach for broadly improving student behavior across school environments. SWPBS includes data-based strategies for supporting all students along a continuum of need and intensity based on a three-tiered model of prevention. Students with the most significant behavioral challenges are provided with assessment-based, individualized supports. To date, considerable evaluation research has demonstrated the benefits of SWPBS, documenting behavioral improvements using the whole school as the unit of analysis. Notably, less evaluation research has focused on the effects of SWPBS on the behavior of individual students with the most significant disabilities. In this paper, we describe SWPBS with an emphasis on the conceptual and procedural elements that are intended to benefit the full range of students within a school, with a particular focus on those students with the most intense needs. We discuss the SWPBS process, provide case illustrations, and call for additional research on the inclusion of students with significant disabilities with all applications of SWPBS.

Describes a process, wraparound planning, for extending educational services to students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) and their families. A merger of community and school-based wraparound is being implemented in pilot school districts in Illinois. Guidelines for implementing school-based wraparound for students with EBD are provided and implications for school organization are drawn. (Author/DB)

Describes the "wraparound" process--a method for developing realistic behavior plans for children with emotional and behavioral disabilities, involving significant persons from all domains of the child's life. Explores how this process can be used by educators in education plans and in other school-based planning meetings. (RJM)