Counselling services are an integral part of a school's pastoral response to children and adolescents experiencing mental health or behavioural challenges. Professional practice documents published within Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America uniformly articulate the capacity of the counsellor to intervene when presented…

Latino students are the largest growing minority group in the U.S. school system. However, there are critical barriers that impeded the development of sustained academic success for this particular population. Latino students have been found to be over-represented in the delivery of disciplinary actions and in the identification of disabilities in…

Data-based decision making is enhanced by identifying a precise problem statement or question to explore. When looking at a problem, the nearer we get to the precise problem (e.g., where and when it is occurring, who is involved, and why the problem is continuing in context and location) the more quickly we can build an action plan to effectively…

Over the past several decades, the Latino population throughout the USA has demonstrated significant growth and exceeded that of other ethnic minority groups. This influx is particularly evident in the student enrollment of US schools as the number of Latino students has increased by approximately 10 million within the past 10 years. With this…

Based on longitudinal multilevel modeling and using a multi-informant strategy, this study examines trajectories of externalizing problem behavior (EPB) in childhood as predicted by parental behavior (absolute level of parenting [ALP] and parental differential treatment [PDT]), parental self-efficacy (PSE), child personality and sibling…

While the conceiving of 21st-century schools has rightly included much discussion on curriculum and instruction, changing demands and conditions also present necessary changes in the way that student behavior is managed. A review of the literature on student discipline over the past decade reveals three particular issues that warrant attention in…

Aims of the study: We investigated whether girls and boys had similar referral symptoms and background characteristics at intake to Multisystemic Therapy (MST) and whether adolescent girls with serious behavior problems benefited as much from MST treatment as did boys. We also examined gender differences in rate of co-morbidity at intake and…

There is widespread consensus in the research and policy-related literature over the last decade that young people who have been permanently excluded from school are at a far greater risk of a variety of negative outcomes than young people who have not had this experience. These negative outcomes include prolonged periods out of education and/or…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a tier two daily behavior card intervention and differential effects based on function of problem behavior. The participants were 36 elementary school students nominated for additional intervention beyond universal School-Wide Positive Behavior Support. Measures included…

As homelessness increased among families and children during the 1980s and 1990s, policymakers created, and strengthened, the McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program. The McKinney-Vento EHCY program aims to mitigate the effects of residential instability through the identification of homeless children in schools and…

Office discipline referrals (ODRs) are commonly used by school teams implementing schoolwide positive behavior support to indicate individual student need for additional behavior support. However, little is known about the technical adequacy of ODRs when used in this manner. In this study, the authors assessed (a) the concurrent validity of number…

Although early recognition of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is important, the age of children at diagnosis is variable. Forty-five participants diagnosed with ASD were divided into groups based on age at diagnosis and compared on age when parents first became concerned about various aspects of their development. Results demonstrated no…

Research NeedsObjective: To examine associations between exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) and clinical patterns of symptoms and disorders in preschool children. Method: Two hundred and thirteen referred and non-referred children, ages 24 to 48 months (MN = 34.9, SD = 6.7 months) were studied. Lifetime exposure to PTEs (family…

Background: This study examined the relation between stress and change in emotional and behavioural problems in children and adolescents referred for mental health services. Method: At three waves across four years, children and their parents (N = 310, mean age at the first wave = 11.26 years, SD = 3.18) reported emotional and behavioural…

Few studies have examined the longitudinal impact that systems of care (SOCs) have on the clinical functioning of young people. This study investigated patterns of clinical improvement over time in an SOC and explored the degree to which demographic characteristics and referral source affected those patterns. Data were gathered at the time of…