The manual considers practical issues involved in building and maintaining the effectiveness of school based support teams, interdisciplinary problem solving groups designed to respond to staff needs through crisis intervention, short or long term consultation, and continuous support. Separate sections address the following topics (sample subtopics in parentheses): rationale; establishment (models, levels of implementation, team planning and preparation); evolution (five stages of team development); requirements for successful operation (mutuality and interdependence, documentation, administrative support); and assurance of the team's continuation (maintenance, leader tasks, and guidelines). More than half of the document is composed of five appendixes including five models of various teams, papers on critical variables in staff support teams, initiation in local school buildings of instructional support teams, parents on school based staff support teams, and inservice training. (CL)