Improving outcomes for children and adolescents with mental health needs demands a broad meta-systemic orientation to overcome persistent problems in current service systems. Improving outcomes necessitates inclusion of current and emerging evidence about effective practices for the diverse population of youth and their families. Key components of…

Describes current perspectives on evidence-based practices in psychology, medicine, and education; discusses challenges in the implementation and dissemination of research-based findings into schools; describes differences between current models of organizational behavior as studied in children's mental health services and in education; and…

Presents a response to commentaries regarding the main articles of this target issue. Suggests a model for school psychology research and practice that positions the discipline for leadership on the transactions that coexist among educational, cognitive, and developmental processes and mental health interventions. (Contains 11 references.) (GCP)

Argues that, although conceptualizing school psychology as primarily an indirect service specialty has advanced our thinking about effective service delivery, conceptualizing school psychological services from a public health perspective will provide an even broader framework that can increase both the efficacy and efficiency of school…

Discusses challenges to conducting research on effectiveness of community service systems that are family-based and school-centered: underidentification of children with emotional or behavioral disorders, lack of concordance between diagnostic criteria used in school versus mental health systems, problems of comorbidity, analysis of data from…