only 5–6 weeks compared to 11–12 weeks for FOC children. It is possible that a longer
period of intervention for both groups could bring all behaviors within a normative range.
A second limitation is that there is no evidence of long-term maintenance of behavior
gains for children in 2nd through 5th grades. In fact, FACET team participants expressed
some concern at the conclusion of the study that, without training and communication with
teachers in the upper elementary grades, FOC and GEN children may not be able to
maintain their progress. Building on the success of the FACET model with preschool and
primary grades, we plan to expand the program for implementation on a school-wide basis
(for all grade levels) in participating schools. A final limitation of this study was the
teacher-nomination method of identifying FOC and GEN children for intervention.
Although there is practical utility in allowing teachers to make these determinations, the
lack of a standardized measure with norms to identify challenging children limits an
understanding of generalization to other samples of young children.
Despite these limitations, several features of the evaluation design support the validity
of our conclusions about the success of the FACET program. Specifically, we employed an
experimental-control group design (with random assignment of school districts to
condition), incorporating both within-subjects (repeated measurement) and between-group
(FOC, GEN, and Control-CHALL) comparisons. Overall, FACET was shown to be an
effective approach for intervening with young children who exhibit challenging behaviors.
Following intervention, FACET students evidenced more positive behaviors and fewer
negative behaviors compared to control students. The study further documented that teams
were able to independently and successfully implement the FACET program with fidelity,
even without ongoing support from expert consultants. In effect, the FACET model of
service delivery can be implemented by school-based teams to address challenging
behaviors of individual students.
Young children with challenging behaviors present one of the greatest challenges to
early educators. Most children with severe behavior problems begin to display challenging
behaviors during their preschool or kindergarten years. Thus, teachers of young children
should have strategies in place to prevent behavior problems or minimize existing
challenging behaviors. This study provided empirical support that a comprehensive
approach combining functional assessment, collaboration, and evidence-based treatment
can substantially improve classroom environments, decrease negative behaviors, and
strengthen positive behaviors. Through systematic and early implementation of evidencebased
approaches, such as FACET, an increase in the frequency or intensity of challenging
behavior can be prevented, thus avoiding long-term negative outcomes for high-risk
children.