Secondary-Tier Interventions and Supports

Abstract

(from the chapter) In recent years, many schools have been implementing extensive prevention activities, especially related to problems such as substance abuse and violence prevention. Gottfredson and Gottfredson (2002) conducted a national survey among a sample of public, private, and Catholic schools stratified by location (i.e., urban, suburban, and rural), representing all grades (kindergarten to 12th grade) and all states. These researchers found that schools responding to the survey had a median number of 14 prevention programs operating at one time. Most schools would not be able to effectively support this many programs simultaneously. Schools need effective and efficient mechanisms for selecting the most appropriate secondary-tier (ST) prevention and intervention programs to meet their needs. The purposes of this chapter are to provide an overview of (a) the critical features of ST interventions, (b) issues related to implementation and evaluation of ST interventions, (c) examples of evidenced-based ST interventions, and (d) suggestions for research and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved) (chapter)