The first item on the National Agenda for Achieving Better Outcomes for Children and Youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance revolves around creating positive environments through the creation of useful, engaging, and positive learning experiences. Over the past 20 years, there has been a significant increase in the types of interventions and programs developed for children with serious emotional disturbance (SED) as well as significant changes in who is serving these children and where they are being served. Despite these changes, outcomes for youth with SED remain problematic. In this article, we review intervention and program examples and outline a framework for increasing their effectiveness. Implications for practitioners, teacher educators, researchers, and policymakers are also discussed.
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