Natural disasters are becoming more frequent and destructive due to climate change and have been shown to be associated with a variety of adverse mental health outcomes in children and adolescents. This study utilizes data from three cohort studies of Hurricane Katrina survivors--including low-income mothers from New Orleans; displaced and highly…

This study identified custodial grandparents' perception of sources of stress that may affect their health and better understand their needs. Findings from this qualitative study are based on thematic analysis of interviews with 10 custodial grandparents. The following themes emerged: (1) grandparents' stress from perceived lack of readiness to…

Much attention has been focused on the importance of providing physical and mental health services to students in educational environments in recent years. Millions of students receive school-based health services, and for many students, schools are their first and only option to receive health care. State policymakers have a lot to consider in…

Although all states in the United States require school districts to adopt anti-bullying policies, relatively little research explores the content of bullying policies. A content analysis of anti-bullying policies from 76 school districts across the State of Louisiana was conducted. A 63-item coding scheme was developed to guide the analysis. The…

This quantitative study was an inquiry into whether Louisiana school counselors' perceptions of their professional identity, quality of principal-school counselor relationships, and confidence level (self-efficacy) of providing school-based mental health services (SBMHS) including counseling skills, addressing student issues, and working with…

In 2017, the National Association of School Psychologists described tele-assessment as the least researched area of telehealth. This became problematic in 2020 when COVID-19 curtailed the administration of face-to-face assessments. Publishers began to offer computer-adapted tele-assessment methods for tests that had only previously been…

Universal screening continues to be a missed opportunity for addressing mental health in schools. The current study compared three separate self-report screening tools: the Behavior Assessment System for Children-Third Edition: Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BASC-3 BESS), Youth Internalizing and Externalizing Problems Screener (YIEPS),…

The pandemic hit the already vulnerable early childhood education (ECE) workforce especially hard, causing almost 40 percent of child care providers to shut their doors and many teachers to lose their jobs. In 2021, enrollment in state-funded preschool also dropped for the first time in 20 years--a nearly 20 percent decline that erased a decade of…

American public education policy and practice has long focused on what can be done to meet the academic needs of all students during the school day. Today, more families and students are facing challenges outside of school that affect student academic performance in classrooms. Challenges such as homelessness, food security, mental health and…

The differential treatment of youth of color in schools perpetuates disparities in academic outcomes. Alternative education programs may represent a constructive approach to preventing or mitigating these disparities. This study examines the outcomes of an urban alternative education program in the United States. Secondary analysis of demographic,…

The postdisaster experiences of social work students have been the focus of a growing corpus of research in the past two decades; however, few investigations have been conducted in the context of catastrophic flooding events. The present study examined coping responses and mental health among 186 social work students in the aftermath of the Great…

Trauma-informed sex education is sensitive to students' traumatic life experiences. Internet panel data for 600 Louisiana parents/caregivers of school-age youth were used to examine parental support for trauma-informed school-based sex education, and parental characteristics associated with supporting trauma-informed sex education. Nearly…

Traditional definitions of school readiness have focused primarily on the skills, knowledge and abilities children need for educational success. However, these definitions have evolved in recent years to encompass a multidimensional view, adding physical and mental health, social and emotional skills, executive functioning and self-regulation, and…

During a time of historic COVID-related federal investment in child care and early education, states are working to leverage this opportunity to provide significant relief and recovery to providers and families. This fact sheet highlights the actions that select states have implemented to make the most of this critical time and opportunity. As…

Trellis' Student Financial Wellness Survey (SFWS) seeks to document the financial well-being of post-secondary students and provide institutions with a detailed profile of the financial issues their students face, some of which could potentially impact their success in college. This report details aggregated findings for the 89 colleges and…