Research has documented positive outcomes for youth who receive wraparound services; however, the specific mechanism for change has not yet been clarified. Data were collected from a sample of 253 youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) who completed wraparound services as a part of publically-funded community-based mental health services (58% male; 49% Caucasian; mean age 12.25 years). Results indicated that both environmental and individual protective factors increased significantly and risky behaviors, including self-harm and aggressive behaviors, decreased significantly throughout youths' time in wraparound services. Improvements in protective factors and decreases in risk factors were significant predictors of clinically significant mental health improvement at exit from community-based wraparound services. Study findings highlight the utility and importance of a dual-factor approach to mental health assessment when implementing and evaluating wraparound services.

The Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA) and recently updated Devereux Early Childhood Assessment for Preschoolers, Second Edition (DECA-P2) are strength-based measures that can inform early intervention. Whereas the short-term psychometric properties of these parent rating scales are strong, little is known about their long-term stability. Study findings from a diverse Head Start sample (N = 282, DECA; N = 346, DECA-P2) revealed 12-month, test-retest reliability of protective factors (r = .65) to be equivalent on the DECA-P2 and the DECA. The stability of parent ratings of behavior concerns appears improved in the newer edition (r = .53 vs. r = .46). Additional consideration should be given to the stability of the DECA-P2 and its use as short-and long-term social, emotional, and behavioral intervention progress monitoring tool. Keywords protective factors, risk factors, young children, behavioral assessment A growing body of research supports the use of a strengths-based or dual-factor (i.e., risk and protective factors) approach to inform early intervention (e.g., Masten, 2014). A social-emotional rating scale for young children measuring protective factors and behavior concerns is the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA; LeBuffe & Naglieri, 1999) and its recent update, the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment for Preschoolers, Second Edition (DECA-P2; LeBuffe & Naglieri, 2012). Both include intervention manuals that link assessment results to evidencedbased interventions, consistent with calls in the literature to use assessment data to inform early intervention efforts (Snyder, Wixson, Talapatra, & Roach, 2008). The DECA assessments have a growing research base supporting their technical adequacy including examinations of both reliability and validity (e.g.

The current study investigates the relationship between the protective factors of initiative, self-control, and attachment and their ability to predict levels of behavioral concern in a Head Start population (N=1885). Considerable research has found strong connections between protective factors and positive outcomes. However, little research has examined the unique contributions of multiple protective factors concurrently. Results of the current study indicate that when children have any one protective factor they are likely to have other protective factors. When considered individually, protective factors are predictive of low levels of behavior concern. Conversely, when all protective factors are considered together, only self-control predicts a lack of behavior concern. This implies that strength-based screeners can inform interventions that improve protective factors and may reduce behavioral problems in at-risk preschool populations.

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