Family Involvement in School-Based Behavioral Screening: A Review of Six School Psychology Journals from 2004 to 2014 Elise Hendricker 1 & Stacy L. Bender 2 & Jenna Ouye 3 # California Association of School Psychologists 2017 Abstract Universal behavioral screening in the school setting plays a vital role in the prevention and early intervention of child difficulties. While universal screening methods have evolved, measures appear to examine child characteristics based on data collected primarily from teachers and children. Parents may also have important information to contribute to screening efforts; however, the extent to which parents are reg- ularly involved in the screening process is somewhat unknown. This study investigated the behavioral screening literature in major school psychology journals from 2004 to 2014 to deter- mine the frequency to which families and caregivers participate in the screening of child behavioral difficulties in schools. Results indicated very few research articles utilized families as screening informants. In addition, the majority of articles either did not mention families directly or only mentioned fam- ilies briefly throughout the study. Implications for the inclusion of families within the screening process are discussed. Keywords Prevention . Screening . Family-School Collaboration . Behavior Schools play a vital role in the prevention and intervention of behavioral problems in children. Recent statistics estimate that 20% of school age children suffer from a diagnosable mental health disorder; however, 80% of these children do not receive treatment through community providers and rely on schools to address their mental health needs (National Institutes of Mental Health 2015). Given these estimates and the importance of schools in mental health efforts, research in the field of school psychology has contributed to the literature base regarding best practices for the prevention, early intervention, and treatment of behavioral concerns from a school-based perspective. One such advancement in schools is the practice of univer- sal screening to determine those students most at-risk of later behavioral difficulties (Severson et al. 2007). Universal screening within the school setting has been defined as Bthe systematic assessment of all students in a given population in order to identify students at risk of emotional, behavioral or related difficulties^ (Dever et al. 2012, pp. 108–109). Schools are an ideal setting to screen for mental health challenges and behavior problems in youth and provide intervention, given the accessibility in reaching a larger population of children (Glover and Albers 2007; Levitt et al. 2007; Costello-Wells et al. 2003). Screening practices in schools have proliferated in the past decade and become part of school psychology re- search and practice due to conceptual advancements and legal implications (e.g., IDEIA; U.S. Department of Education 2004), such as the importance of early intervention and pre- vention in the reduction of later negative outcomes (Morgan et al. 2002) and federal funding within special education spe- cifically allocated towards early intervention efforts prior to disability determination and special education eligibility with- in Response to Intervention (RTI) models (U.S. Department of Education 2004; Dever et al. 2012). In response to changing legislation and efforts to meet the needs of school-aged children, The National Association of Elise Hendricker, School of Arts and Sciences, University of Houston- Victoria; Stacy L. Bender, College of Education and Human Development, University of Massachusetts-Boston; Jenna Ouye, Children’ s Hospital Los Angeles * Elise Hendricker hendrickere@uhv.edu 1 School of Arts and Sciences, University of Houston-Victoria, 2002 W. Grand Parkway North, Katy, TX 77449, USA 2 University of Massachusetts-Boston, Boston, MA, USA 3 Children’ s Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA Contemp School Psychol https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-017-0163-9