Resource Centers
(Training, Research, Service Models)

Federal agencies in education, special education, health and human services, private foundations and universities fund and operate centers devoted to research, training or service delivery. Each center has specific goals and objectives, target populations to receive intervention or assistance and different methods used for their service models or research.

Center for Effective Collaborations and Practice supports and promotes a reoriented national preparedness to foster the development and the adjustment of children with or at risk of developing serious emotional disturbance. To achieve that goal, the Center is dedicated to a policy of collaboration at federal, state, and local levels that contributes to and facilitates the production, exchange, and use of knowledge about effective practices. Practical information for teachers and families on Functional Behavioral Assessment is provided on the web site.

Center for Evidence Based Practices: Young Children with Challenging Behavior has the mission of promoting the use of evidence-based practice to meet the needs of young children who have, or are at risk for, problem behavior. The Center has engaged in a process to identify and describe the current state of knowledge pertaining to evidence-based practices for young children with challenging behavior. Resources on their Web Site include synthesis documents of what is known about effective practices.

Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) is a national center focused on strengthening the capacity of child care and Head Start programs to improve the social and emotional outcomes of young children. The Center is developing and disseminating evidence-based, user-friendly information to help early childhood educators meet the needs of the growing number of children with challenging behaviors and mental health challenges in childcare settings. These include a series of "What Works" Briefs.

Early Childhood Behavior Project (Positive Approaches to Challenging Behavior at the University of Minnesota), which began as an OSEP-funded project is conderned with positive behavioral supports for young children who engage in challenging behavior. The information on this web site includes presentations, strategies, and case studies.

National TA Center on Children's Mental Health is located at Georgetown University's Center for Child and Human Development (GUCCHD) in Washington, D.C. Since 1984, the Technical Assistance Center has been dedicated to working in partnership with families and many other leaders across the country to transform services for children and adolescents who have, or are at risk for, mental health problems and their families. The Technical Assistance Center works with states, tribes, communities and family and offers a range of training and technical assistance opportunities, publications, informational resources, and links to other organizations. The Early Childhood Mental Health policy team is dedicated to helping states and communities develop systems of care that are built upon family and child-centered practice and policy, cultural and linguistic competence, and grounded in developmental knowledge.

Research and Training Center on Family Support and Children's Mental Health at Portland State is dedicated to promoting effective community-based, culturally competent, family-centered services for families and their children who are, or may be affected by mental, emotional or behavioral disorders. This goal is accomplished through collaborative research partnerships with family members, service providers, policy makers, and other concerned persons. The center's model of inclusive projects works to improve access to inclusive, family centered high quality childcare for children with emotional and behavioral disorders.

Tulane Institute of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health provides intensive mental health training opportunities for professionals working with children with mental health issues. The Website also has research and publications.