This paper discusses the results of a study that investigated the validity and reliability of the Ecology Rating Scale (ERS). The ERS is a brief, multi-dimensional level-of-functioning instrument that can be rated by parents or clinicians. The ERS is comprised of seven domains of youth functioning: family, school, emotional, legal/justice, recreational, health, and social. For each domain, respondents are asked to assess the degree to which the child's life is influenced in the particular domain by problems associated with his/her emotional/behavioral difficulties. Each domain is rated on a 5-point scale of severity. Behavioral anchors are written on the scale itself for moderate (3) and severe (5) levels. The validity study involved 74 parents of children (ages 4-18) who were current clients at one of six community mental health centers in Washington state. Results found interrater reliability was strongest for social, recreation, and legal subscales. Other scales had weak interrater reliability. With the exception of the legal subscale of the ERS, all ERS scales provided some evidence of concurrent validity. (Contains 11 references.) (CR)