“The award of this highly competitive grant reflects the Institute’s national leadership in positive behavior support,” said David L. Shern, Dean of the Institute. “Our faculty now have several initiatives in this area that are reaching the lives of countless children and their families.”
The most common challenging behaviors in young children are aggression, defiance, tantrums and property destruction. Studies have shown that early appearing behavior problems are predictors of adolescent delinquency, gang membership, and adult incarceration. Children with behavior problems are more likely as teens to drop out of school, abuse drugs and alcohol, and be arrested.
“When young children have severe problem behavior, early intervention is absolutely essential to the child’s emotional well-being and future school success,” added co-principal investigator, Lise Fox. “This Center will conduct research and disseminate effective practices that may be used by families, early educators, and other professionals to assist these children and their families.”
A critical first step for the center will be to review the current state of knowledge of evidence-based practices and identify gaps in knowledge related to such things as diagnosis, intervention, and outcomes for children with or at risk for behavioral problems. From that review, a detailed research agenda will be constructed that builds upon the current state of knowledge and practice. It will focus on three major areas: direct services and interventions for children and families, training needs, and administrative and systems concerns.
Over the five years of the grant, the center will develop and disseminate training materials geared to a variety of professional disciplines that serve young children with, or at risk for behavioral problems, and their families. It will also implement a comprehensive dissemination strategy for project materials and information that will include partnering with major national organizations, developing an interactive Web site, and working directly with community agencies that provide services to children and families.
In addition to USF, collaborating institutions and organizations include the University of Colorado at Denver, the University of Florida, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Kansas, Lehigh University, Pyramid Parent Training of New Orleans, and Tennessee Voices for Children. It also includes the National Head Start Association, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children, and the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies.
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