Understanding mental health intervention and assessment within a multi-tiered framework: Contemporary science, practice, and policy.

This special topic section features research regarding practices that will support mental health service delivery within a school-based multitiered framework. The articles include data and discussions regarding the evaluation of universal, targeted, or intensive intervention addressing mental health concerns and assessment tools intended for use in screening, progress monitoring, or problem identification. The featured interventions and assessment practices are suitable for use within a service delivery model that prioritizes ecological theory, data-based decision making, and problem solving logic. Each article includes a conceptualization of how the intervention/assessment of interest fits into a school-based multitiered framework and information about feasibility and utility of the practice in school-based settings. These articles highlight the use of mental health intervention and assessment within a multitiered problem-solving framework, and will hopefully stimulate interest in and further scholarship on this important topic. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).