AN ECOLOGICAL MODEL FOR SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL-HEALTH-SERVICES FOR URBANLOW-INCOME AGGRESSIVE-CHILDREN

An ecological model for school-based mental health services that targe ts urban low-income aggressive children-a highly vulnerable and unders erved population-is presented. The goals of the model are ro increase children's and teachers' involvement in the delivery of services and t o increase the integration od these services into existing school reso urces and activities. The model proposes that mental health service pr oviders work in collaboration with teachers to deliver services that ( I) can be managed by existing school resources and personnel (2) are r elated to empirically based factors associated with reduced aggression and increased social functioning, and (3) are group administered to i ncrease the number of children served and to reduce stigmatization ass ociated with mental health services. The model is individualized and f lexible by acknowledging that contexts for aggression differ across cl assrooms and children and by providing services specific to those cont exts. Two studies are presented illustrating the application of this m odel to decrease aggression and increase academic engagement in low-in come urban public schools.