Rate My Professor Tara Raines

Tara Raines serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Higher Education within the School of Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Holding credentials including Ph.D., Psy.S., M.S. (Psychology), M.S. (Education), and B.A., she earned her Ph.D. in School Psychology from Georgia State University in 2012, along with M.A. and specialist degrees in School Psychology from Nova Southeastern University. Her research specializations encompass early identification of behavioral and emotional disorders through universal screening, school-based pathways to incarceration and the school-to-prison pipeline, disproportionality in special education placement, and fostering equitable, culturally responsive systems of care in school psychology. Dr. Raines's work emphasizes preventive and promotive approaches to complete mental health in schools and addressing racial and ethnic disparities.

Dr. Raines's career includes faculty appointments at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the University of Denver, where she directed clinical training in the Child, Family, and School Psychology program. She advanced policy as Deputy Director of the Children’s Advocacy Alliance of Nevada and holds the position of Senior Director for Child Behavioral Health Dissemination at the Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health, University of Oregon, since 2025. Key publications include "Universal screening for behavioral and emotional risk: A promising method for reducing disproportionate placement in special education" (The Journal of Negro Education, 2012, with B.V. Dever, R.W. Kamphaus, A.T. Roach), "Enhancing school-based mental health services with a preventive and promotive approach to universal screening for complete mental health" (Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 2015, with E. Dowdy et al.), "School psychology unified antiracism statement and call to action" (School Psychology Review, 2020, with E. García-Vázquez et al.), and "School pathways to the juvenile justice system" (Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2020, with T. Hughes, C. Malone). Her scholarship has garnered over 2,000 citations. Recognized with honors from the National Association of School Psychologists, including a presidential award, and the American Psychological Association, she was honored as Citizen of the Month by the City of Las Vegas in 2024 for children's mental health advocacy. Dr. Raines has contributed to national leadership through presentations at NASP conventions and collaborative statements on antiracism in school psychology.