A School Mental Health Research-Practice Partnership: Implementation of a Tier 2 Intervention

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 11:45 am - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: School-Based Mental Health and Restorative Practices for Student Success

Abstract

The current study examines implementation of a school-based Tier 2 intervention as part of a research-practice partnership between a large urban school district and university. The Resilience Education Program (REP) is a targeted, multi-component intervention to support students with internalizing behavior concerns (e.g., anxiety, sadness). School mental health professionals facilitate small-groups using cognitive-behavioral instruction (CBI), teachers lead a modified check-in/check-out reinforcement-based mentorship program (CICO), and parents participate in Resilient Families (RF) to support children’s coping skills. A component analysis was conducted to determine which combination of the three components of REP was most efficacious. Schools were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions (CBI+CICO, CBI+RF, CBI+CICO+RF). Results indicated CBI and CICO were sufficient in decreasing students’ internalizing behavior concerns.

Authors

• Katie Eklund, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Stephen Kilgus, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Andy Garbacz, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Kierin Barnett, University of Wisconsin - Madison