Background: There is a growing emphasis of evidence-based program requirements being integrated into social welfare policies for youth care services in the U.S. This trend highlights the need for increased practitioner understanding and involvement in the research process to develop and implement evidence-based programs for youth with emotional…

Positive and constructive feedback is a form of positive reinforcement essential to effective instruction and classroom management. This article provides practitioners with a range of realistic positive and constructive feedback strategies and descriptions of how such feedback can be implemented in schools and classrooms, with a special focus on…

Children classified as emotionally disturbed constitute a most challenging and expensive population in the public schools. This article presents a tri-part model of barriers to program design, implementation, and evaluation for children classified as emotionally disturbed in public school settings. An examination of the available school-based…

One approach to student behavior that may be particularly useful in exclusionary settings is school-wide positive behavior supports (PBS). Increasingly, evidence shows that PBS is an effective approach to student behavior in regular public schools (Sugai & Horner, 2005). While the data on behavioral systems in exclusionary schools are…

This training guide is intended as an aid for agencies and professionals in creating interagency efforts to provide comprehensive care to children and youth with serious emotional disorders and their families. It is not a generic concept but a specific approach to providing care. Section I addresses the key assumptions that undergird the model,…

The Time on Computer program rewards students with emotional disabilities in grades 4-5 by allowing them to use the classroom computer and printer contingent on appropriate behavior. The program was merged with a classroom "Ladder System" which encourages self-management via privileges and restrictions. The program effects behavior improvement…

This manual provides guidelines and forms for implementing a planning team approach to support students with emotional and behavioral difficulties in regular education settings, developed as part of a 3-year federally funded project to enhance the capability of 30 Vermont public schools. Following an introduction, a student profile is reviewed…

This monograph was developed to assist states and communities in planning, designing, and implementing culturally competent systems of care for children with serious emotional disturbances. It highlights the culturally competent aspects of 11 programs serving people of color. Each program targets at least one of the four major ethnic minority…

This report details the continuation and expansion of four special education programs in Saginaw, Michigan, which received Public Law 94-142 funding during the 1990-91 school year. The four programs are the Severely Emotionally Impaired (SEI) program, Program Expansion, Program Find, and the Pre Primary Impaired (PPI) program. Information provided…

This introductory packet provides information on cultural concerns that should be considered in addressing barriers to student learning. Topics discussed include: (1) what is meant by ethnicity; (2) the importance of considering culture; (3) characteristics of culturally competent programs; (4) reasons school staff should be concerned about…