The overarching mission of the SMART Center is to promote quality improvement of school-based mental/behavioral health services, thereby preventing or ameliorating mental health problems more effectively and promoting the social-emotional and academic development and success of youth across school, home, and community contexts. This mission is advanced through the identification, implementation, and sustainment of evidence-based behavioral health practices in schools.

Leadership:

Aaron Lyon, PhD

Eric J. Bruns, PhD

Larissa Gaias, PhD

Kelcey Schmitz, MSEd
Jennifer Stuber, PhD

SMART Center website

Main Challenge

Through our collaboration between faculty in the College of Education (CoE), School of Social Work (SSW) and the School of Medicine (SoM; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences) at the University of Washington, SMART facilitates more equitable, effective, and integrated approaches to research and technical assistance surrounding the design and implementation of evidence-based SEB interventions.

Our Approach

  • We develop contextually-appropriate, low-burden programs that prevent or ameliorate SEB problems
  • We develop strategies for communities, districts, and schools to increase the use of effective SEB programs, practices, and policies
  • We support indigenous providers such as teachers and school-based mental health providers in their roles, and enhance the interconnections across school, home, and community contexts.

Jennifer Cohen
Program Operations Manager
jencohen@uw.edu
206.221.1988

Department Faculty

Molly Adrian, PhD

Eric J. Bruns, PhD

Larissa Gaias, PhD

Freda Liu, PhD

Aaron Lyon, PhD

Elizabeth McCauley, PhD

Margaret Sibley, PhD

Ann Vander Stoep, PhD

Larry Wissow, MD, MPH

Sample Projects

A Research Institute for Implementation Science in Education (RIISE) to address the “Last Mile” in education

Autism Community Toolkit: Systems to Measure and Adopt Research-Based Treatments- Educational Redesign (ACT SMARTER)

Beliefs and Attitudes for Successful Implementation in Schools (BASIS)

Disseminating a user-friendly guide: Advancing the science of intervention adaptation and improving access to evidence-based psychological treatment

Exploring mechanisms of change in a pilot trial of the RUBI Program in educational settings

Helping Educational Leadership Mobilize Evidence (HELM): an organizational intervention to promote strategic implementation in schools

Initial efficacy trial of a group-based implementation strategy designed to increase teacher delivery of evidence-based prevention programs

Parent and teacher engagement as an undervalued implementation determinant

Parent Educator Action Response (PEAR)

PHSKC Planning and Evaluation

PHSKC School Based Health Services

Preparing teachers and paraprofessionals for the successful inclusion of children with ASD (ASD PREP)

State Implementation and Scaling-up of Evidence-based Practices (SISEP) Center

Systematic redesign of an autism community implementation toolkit for schools

Testing the efficacy of the Helping Educational Leaders Mobilize Evidence (HELM) implementation strategy

Using teen Mental Health First Aid to address mental health inequity among school youth

WA state parent network to prevent youth suicide and improve student mental health