News and Events

New U.S. Department of Education Report Highlights Examples of Work of CFS Faculty

The U.S. Department of Education has released a new resource: Supporting Child and Student Social, Emotional, Behavioral and Mental Health to provide information and resources to enhance the promotion of mental health and the social and emotional well-being among children and students.

This report highlights seven key challenges to providing school- or program-based mental health support across early childhood, K–12 schools and higher education settings, and presents seven corresponding recommendations.

As part of the recommendations, the report highlights examples from the work of CFS faculty, most working within the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations (NCPMI), the National Technical Assistance Center of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), and the Florida PBIS Project.

The following faculty provided leadership to the featured systems work:

  • Lise Fox, PhD, Principal Investigator of the NCPMI and Co-Director of Florida Center for Inclusive Communities
  • Heather Peshak George, PhD, Co-Principal Investigator and Co-Director of the Center on PBIS and the Florida PBIS Project
  • Don Kincaid, EdD, Technical Assistance Director of the Center on PBIS, and Co-Director of the Florida PBIS Project and the Florida Center for Inclusive Communities

Resources and citations highlighted in the report include:

Checklist of Early Childhood Practices that Support Social-Emotional Development and Trauma-Informed Care (NCPMI)


Practical Strategies to Promote Social-Emotional Skill Development and Mental Health in Young Children- Back to School: Promoting Social-Emotional Skills and Preventing Challenging Behavior
Lise Fox


The Leadership Team’s Guide for Re-Opening Programs
Anna Winneker, Lise Fox, Meghan von der Embse, Erin Sizemore, and Dana Peña


Helping Young Children Understand Emotions When Wearing Masks


Practical Strategies to Promote Social-Emotional Skill Development and Mental Health in Young Children–Tucker Turtle Takes Time to Tuck and Think
Rochelle Lentini, Lindsay N. Giroux and Mary Louise Hemmeter


Gage, N. A., Grasley-Boy, N., George, H. P., Childs, K., & Kincaid, D. (2019). A quasi-experimental design analysis of the effects of school-wide positive behavior interventions and supports on discipline in Florida. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 21(1), 50–61.


Florida PBIS, Florida Center for Inclusive Communities, & the University of South Florida. (2020). Integrating social and emotional learning into your School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports framework. Presented at the 17th International Virtual Conference on Positive Behavior Support.


Massey, O., & Vroom, E. (2019). The role of implementation science in behavioral health. In B. Levin, & A. Hanson, K. (Eds.), Foundations of behavioral health (pp. 101–118). New York: Springer.


LaSalle, TL, George, HP, McCoach, DB, Polk, T, Evanovich, LL. An Examination of School Climate, Victimization, and Mental Health Problems Among Middle School Students Self-Identifying With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. Behavioral Disorders. 2018;43(3):383-392. doi:10.1177/0198742918768045


Weist, M. D., Garbacz, S. A., Lane, K. L., & Kincaid, D. (2017). Aligning and integrating family engagement in Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS): Concepts and strategies for families and schools in key contexts. Center for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (funded by the Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education). Eugene, Oregon: University of Oregon Press.