As one out of five children in the United States demonstrate some type of mental or behavioral health concern warranting additional intervention, federal policies have emphasized the need for school‐based mental health (SBMH) services and an expansion of Medicaid reimbursement for eligible children and families. Most youth access mental health services at school; therefore, it is important to evaluate how staffing ratios, credentialing, and state Medicaid policies may influence school psychologists’ involvement in the delivery of SBMH services. A survey of 192 school psychologists found that as practitioner to student ratios increased, the availability and provision of SBMH services decreased. As state Medicaid policies have been found to influence the provision of mental health services at school, current study results demonstrate an association between state level Medicaid policies and the number of school psychologists qualified to bill for Medicaid‐reimbursable services. Implications for service delivery and policy development are discussed.

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability, validity, and accuracy of scores from the Intervention Selection Profile-Function (ISP-Function): a brief functional assessment tool founded upon Direct Behavior Rating (DBR) methodology. Participants included 34 teacher-student dyads. Using the ISP-Function, teachers rated the extent to which students exhibited disruptive behavior, as well as the frequency with which disruptions were met with four consequences. Ratings were completed across three 10-min sessions, during which a research assistant also collected systematic direct observation (SDO) data regarding the same behavior and consequences. Results indicated adequate temporal reliability (Ն.70) was attained for the adult attention and peer attention targets across the three ratings; in contrast, up to 8 -18 data points would be needed to achieve adequate reliability across the remaining targets. Findings further suggested that while ISP-Function ratings of disruptive behavior, adult attention, and peer attention were moderately to highly correlated with SDO data, correlations were in the low range for the access to items/activities and escape/avoidance targets. Finally, analysis of difference scores showed that on average, mean ISP-Function scores fell within only 0.33 to 1.81 points of mean SDO scores (on the 0 -10 DBR scale). Agreement coefficients indicative of exact score agreement were less consistent, suggesting accuracy ranged from poor to substantial. Results are promising, but future research is necessary to support applied ISP-Function use. Impact and ImplicationsStudy results support the continued validation of the Intervention Selection Profile-Function, with findings speaking to the reliability, validity, and accuracy of three of five scales within the tool. The availability of such tools enhances the likelihood of schools collecting functional assessment data to inform the implementation of Tier 2 interventions.

Mindfulness is linked to a variety of social, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral well-being indicators in youth. Given increased interest among researchers and practitioners, high-quality instruments are needed to effectively measure the construct in children, youth, and young adults, especially in the context of mindfulness-based interventions conducted in school settings. Presented is a review of published and nonpublished measurement studies of mindfulness in school-aged youth. An overview of three survey instruments is provided, along with each instrument's development procedures, associated psychometric properties, and applications. Potential theoretical and applied uses of these measures in school-based settings are discussed. C 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Encouraged by cross-agency federal initiatives, state and local educators are increasingly interested in school supports that reduce the likelihood of students being excluded from school due to academic, behavioral, and/or emotional failure. A relatively recent addition to discourse around preventing school exclusion and failure, mindfulness is gaining popularity for its potential to improve students' social, emotional, behavioral, and learning-related cognitive control, thereby improving academic outcomes.