Students with Involved Families and Teachers (SWIFT)

Based on Research Conducted at OSLC

SWIFT takes a preventive approach to support students in public school settings who are at risk for placement in more restrictive school settings. This 5-year randomized controlled trial will examine SWIFT’s efficacy to improve students’ prosocial skills and emotion and behavior regulation and to improve home-school communication and the use of positive parenting practices for families.

Project Overview

This 5-year randomized controlled trial will recruit 320 students with emotional and behavioral challenges from Lane County schools to examine the efficacy of the Students with Involved Families and Teachers (SWIFT) Program. Specifically, the study will investigate whether SWIFT might be efficacious to improve students’ prosocial skills and emotion and behavior regulation and to improve home-school communication and the use of positive parenting practices for families. SWIFT takes a preventive approach to support students in public school settings who are at risk for placement in more restrictive school settings. The SWIFT Program includes (1) skills coaching for students; (2) parent support to promote homework completion in the home and engagement with the school; (3) behavioral progress monitoring; and (4) case management of the intervention elements and coordination with the school.

The SWIFT Program began in 2011 with a development project for an intervention to support student transitions from day-treatment school settings to public school settings. SWIFT is currently being implemented through the OSLC Developments, Inc. (ODI) Clinic: www.odiclinic.org/swift/.

Year Project Began: 2019
Funder: Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education

Principal Investigator

Rohanna Buchanan, Ph.D.

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Research Scientist
Oregon Social Learning Center

Active Research Projects

Primary Research and Clinical Interests

Dr. Buchanan has been with OSLC since 2000. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. Dr. Buchanan’s research focuses on the inclusion of families and behavioral data to support youth in school, particularly during difficult transitions. Her current work targets behavioral health supports for students in school settings. Dr. Buchanan also works with Dr. Chamberlain on the dissemination of the KEEP intervention. Dr. Buchanan’s other research interests include measurement of implementation fidelity, instrument development to measure responsiveness to behavioral interventions, and measure psychometrics. Prior to receiving her Ph.D., Buchanan served as a clinician on the GIRLS project with OSLC and helped to develop girl-specific adaptations for the Treatment Foster Care Oregon model and teen-specific adaptations for KEEP.