What is Positive Behavior Support?

The CSEFEL framework is based on Positive “To promote the social, Behavior Support (PBS). Positive Behavior emotional and behavioral Support describes a process for addressing children’s challenging behavior that is based competence of Iowa‟s on an understanding of the purpose of the young children, all early behavior and a focus on teaching new skills care, health and education to replace challenging behavior. Over the last providers in the state will 20 years, there has been an accumulation of provide services that em- evidence that the use of PBS can result in decreases in problem behavior and assisting body the „pyramid model‟ individuals with challenging behavior and of positive behavior sup- their families in achieving their desired life- port. ” Early Childhood style. Early applications of PBS focused on Positive Behavior Support in Iowa the development of behavior support plans Iowa Statewide PBS Planning to help children and adults who had chal- Team Vision An evidence-based approach to lenging behavior. In the last 10 years, the address challenging behaviors in implementation of PBS has expanded to in- young children clude school-wide and program-wide applica- tions. In school- and program-wide PBS, all of the staff work together to ensure that chil- dren understand behavior expectations, re- ceive instruction in social skills, and those with the most persistent problem behavior receive individualized assistance. Program-Wide PBS includes an exhaustive data collection mechanism to measure the effects of PBS interventions in management systems, classroom quality, disruptive behav- For more information on Iowa’s Early Childhood ior and the socio-emotional development of Positive Behavior Support initiative visit: A Partnership between the Center on Social Emotional Foun- individual children. http://www.iowa.gov/educate/ dations for Early Learning, the Iowa Department of Educa- tion and the Statewide PBS Planning Team with representa- tion from the Iowa Departments of Human Services and Pub- Every child, beginning at birth, will lic Health, Iowa State University, Area Education Agencies, be healthy and successful Child Care Resources and Referral and Head Start and local school districts. April 2009 Addressing the Social and Iowa Statewide Positive Behavior Support Initiative Emotional needs of young children

Background Iowa’s PBS Initiative In 2007, Iowa and the Center on the Social and The Iowa PBS initiative involves the adoption of new WHO IS BEING SERVED? Emotional Foundations for Early Learning approaches for facilitating the development of children’s 30 Programs (CSEFEL) entered into a partnership agreement social competence and addressing challenging behavior. 221 Classrooms with the Iowa Department of Education to de- This framework involves four levels of practices that velop a model for a statewide system that represent prevention, promotion, and intervention. 3500 Children builds effectively and efficiently on the PBS work The first two levels of the Pyramid describe practices currently being done in Iowa (i.e., school-wide that are essential for the prevention of challenging be- WHAT ARE THE RESULTS? PBS, program-wide PBS and PBS child care train- haviors and the promotion of social competence in all ing) and includes trainers and training, coaching children. At the foundation of the pyramid is the devel- Reduce incidence of problem behaviors and technical assistance, system connectors and opment of positive relationships with children, families, Problem behaviors in early childhood programs data management system. and staff. The second level is the use of prac- Implementing the PBS model have been re- tices that prevent problem behavior, support duced by two-thirds. The need for programs to the engagement of all children, and sup- port the development of social skills. For take exceptional actions like dismissing or Approach many children, these two levels of transferring children, requesting outside assis- CSEFEL has developed a conceptual practices may be all that is needed tance or calling the family has been virtually model of evidence-based practices to support their healthy social- eliminated. for promoting young children’s emotional development. The social emotional competence and next level of the pyramid, so- Increase social skills, positive behaviors. preventing and addressing chal- cial and emotional teaching Iowa programs implementing PBS have shown lenging behavior. This model strategies, addresses the a consistent increase in social skills. Percent- is referred to as the Pyra- needs of these children. mid Model for Support- The top level of the age of children “at-risk” or with “significant” ing Social Emotional pyramid includes problems has been halved. Teacher perception Competence. Based the use of data confirmed that program-wide expecta- on five years of evalua- individualized tions were owned by children (“It’s their rules tion data, the Pyra- positive behavior mid Model for Sup- and they own it now”). support interventions porting Social for children who have the Program quality improvements Emotional Com- most persistent challenging Program quality measures have increased 32 petence is a behavior. Even when all other percent for year-one sites and 46 percent for sound frame- The Pyramid Model levels of the pyramid are in place, work for early year-two sites. Studies from pilot sites using there are children who will still need care and education systems. Extensive training PBS in preschool settings show staff felt more an individualized behavior support plan materials, videos, and print resources developed that includes prevention strategies, the in- confident in their own ability to address chal- by CSEFEL are being use in Iowa to support local struction of replacement skills, and guidance on lenging behavior and less reliant on outside communities and programs to implement the how to respond to problem behavior so that it is support. model. not maintained.