Vaccines represent a new and promising avenue of treatment for drug abuse but also pose new medication adherence challenges due to prolonged and widely-spaced administration schedules. This study examined effects of prize-based incentives on retention and medication adherence among 26 cocaine users involved in a six-month hepatitis B vaccination series. Participants could meet with research staff weekly for 24 weeks and receive seven injections containing either the Hepatitis B vaccine or a placebo. All participants received $10 at each weekly visit (maximum of $240). Those randomly assigned to the incentive program received additional monetary payments on an escalating schedule for attendance at weekly monitoring and vaccination visits with maximum possible earnings of $751. Group attendance diverged after study week 8 with attendance better sustained in the incentive than control group (group by time interaction, p = .035). Overall percent of weekly sessions attended was 82% for incentive versus 64% for control (p = .139). Receiving all scheduled injections were 77% of incentive versus 46% of control participants (p = .107). A significantly larger percentage (74% versus 51%; p = .016) of injections were received by incentive versus control participants on the originally scheduled day. Results suggest that monetary incentives can successfully motivate drug users to attend sessions regularly and to receive injected medications in a more reliable and timely manner than may be seen under usual care procedures. Thus, incentives may be useful for addressing adherence and allowing participants to reap the full benefits of newly developed medications.

Reducing the opportunity gap between subgroups of students while simultaneously creating safe and positive school climates that lessen the likelihood of peer victimization and promote mental health is of utmost national importance (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). Schools are expected to create positive school climates to increase the social well-being and academic performance of all students (Cohen, McCabe, Michelli, & Pickeral, 2009), preparing them to become successful adult contributors to a broader, caring community (Horner & Sugai, 2009). Many schools and districts struggle to successfully and consistently provide such environments for all students, as evidenced by higher rates of suspension, exclusion, and academic failure among students in minority groups, including students with disabilities (SWD). SWD represent 12% of the public-school population but are suspended at a rate more than twice that of their peers without an Individualized Education Plan (Individualized Education Program [IEP]), and SWD represent 67% of all restraints and seclusions (U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, 2016). In particular, students with emotional and behavioral disorders (SWEBD) have the highest risk for negative school outcomes of any disability category (Wagner & Cameto, 2004). They experience high risk of peer rejection, negative teacher interactions, and isolation from their community (Dunlap et al., 2006) as well as the highest rates of unemployment, substance abuse, homelessness, and mental health issues (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2009; Wagner, Kutash, Duchnowski, Epstein, & Sumi, 2005). Research findings also reveal that SWD are at greater risk for victimization than their peers without disabilities. Rose, Monda-Amaya, and Espelage (2011) reported that more than half of SWD experience peer victimization, in comparison with approximately 32% for students without disabilities 768045B HDXXX10.1177/0198742918768045Behavioral DisordersLa Salle et al.

Research focusing on school climate has shown that healthy, safe, and positive school environments are associated with improved psychological, social, behavioral, and academic outcomes for secondary students. For this reason, it is important for schools to understand how to improve perceptions of school climate through effective, evidence-based interventions. Despite the importance of school climate, secondary schools continue to struggle to implement evidence-based interventions that may improve school climate in these settings. The purpose of this guide is to provide a practical step-by-step guide for improving school climates in high schools within a multitiered system of support (MTSS) framework, specifically focusing on how to use the critical features of MTSS (i.e., outcomes, data, practices, systems) to support effective implementation.