Despite having similar rates of child mental health and behavior problems, rural areas are often overlooked by researchers in favor of urban areas that provide larger, more diverse samples. However, rural children’s problems manifest differently than what is seen in urban and suburban contexts, and these differences exist within both the home and school settings. Family-school partnerships unite these two integral systems by promoting continuity across settings to support children’s development. 

Conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC) is an evidence-based family-school partnership intervention wherein families and schools collaborate with a behavioral consultant to address child concerns. In its traditional format, the time specialized nature of delivering CBC — and the time and travel commitments needed by participants — limits the feasibility of CBC as an option for many rural communities. Distance technology offers the potential as a new method of delivering CBC that bypasses many of the barriers facing rural communities. 

In this study, CBC using distance technology (CBC-D) is being investigated using a concurrent multiple baseline across participants design to determine its efficacy at addressing child compliance at home and school. Additionally, the acceptability of CBC-D to participating parents and teachers and the effect of CBC-D on the parent-teacher relationship are evaluated descriptively. Participants comprise four parent-teacher pairs from rural communities who share concerns about a child’s compliance. CBC is then conducted through videoconferencing, with a behavioral consultant participating in the meetings remotely. 

Results will provide preliminary information on the efficacy and acceptability of CBC-D as a potential method of service delivery for at-risk children in rural communities who lack access to specialized services.