Successful Program Development Using Implementation Evaluation

SUMMARY

Four methods used to enhance implementation of a resiliency-based early childhood substance abuse and violence prevention initiative are described. Project staff drew up formal agreements with participating programs to ensure administrative support for the intervention, provided high quality training for program implemcnt-ers, used a participatory evaluation approach, and monitored implementation both directly and through practitioners' self-report. The contribution of each of these methods to fidelity of implementation is discussed, and implementation challenges are identified. The growth and success of the project demonstrates the utility of implementation evaluation data for ongoing program development and improvement.     

The Organizational,Community and Programmatic Characteristics that Predict the Effective Implementation of After-School Programs

Abstract

To identify characteristics predicting the effective implementation of after-school programs, in-depth interviews were conducted at five sites randomly selected from a subset of 16 ACE after-school sites serving high risk youth in a southwestern city. Qualitative data from structured in-depth interviews, follow-up telephone conversations with personnel as well as researcher observations during site visits were synthesized. Data identified three constellations of characteristics associated with effective implementation: staffing, community and programmatic. Staffing characteristics included limited staff turnover and sufficient training. Community characteristics included cultural sensitivity and community integration. Programmatic characteristics included clearly defined program goals and specific program content. Researcher observations found outcomes assessment would also facilitate program implementation.     

The Black Church and Family Support Programs

Abstract

The churches in the African American community have traditionally played many important supportive roles to families in many areas. Churches today are becoming more involved in the provision of services to the community members in response to many of the changes that are occurring in families, in employment, and in areas of increased poverty. Churches play important supportive roles by caring for children after school. Project SPIRIT is a program in which instructions are given in homework assistance, cultural continuity, African American history, and self esteem. These programs provide social support to all family members.     

Project LINK

Abstract

This article describes the outcomes of Project LINK, a Safe Schools/Healthy Students grantee in Larimer County, Colorado. The study analyzed the influence of policies and administrative support on the implementation of programs as well as on risk and protective factors predictive of violent behaviors and drug and alcohol use. Results showed increased feelings of safety in comparison to the rest of the state and changes in risk and protective factors by school level. Results also indicate that leadership support and enforcement of policies are associated with successful adoption, implementation, and positive behavioral outcomes.     

Community Building with Technology

Abstract

This article describes the creation and development of community technology initiatives in Lowell, Massachusetts, a historically poor and ethnically diverse mid-size city. In the past two years, many organizations have joined in community-wide efforts to share information and resources electronically and to launch new electronic technology projects. Recent initiatives include a comprehensive computerized public database of area-wide health and human service programs, a centralized multi-purpose community Web site, and a new inter-agency community technology collaborative. This article reviews these activities and describes general lessons learned in electronic community building that may apply to other communities.     

Doctoral Education in Clinical-Community Psychology

SUMMARY

This paper provides an overview of doctoral clinical-community psychology programs and highlights some possible future directions in training. Clinical-community doctoral programs were categorized as: (1) formally labeled clinical-community programs, (2) clinical programs with a formal community track, or (3) clinical programs with an informal community emphasis. Many graduates from these programs obtain a basic understanding and appreciation of community psychology through required or elective courses, and through contact with students and faculty involved in community research and action. Those students who focus their research and electives around community psychology obtain a thorough and in-depth training experience in community research and action. Changes precipitated by managed care will challenge current ways that psychological services are provided allowing for more community based, innovative, and preventive approaches for which community psychology training would be particularly useful. Greater flexibility in APA accreditation guidelines provide opportunities for greater flexibility within clinical-community programs. Doctoral programs in clinical-community psychology are positioned to lead the development of a public health and human service approach to doctoral training through the integration of community and clinical psychology.     

Implementing a Violence Intervention for Inner-City Adolescents

SUMMARY

Violence is a growing public health problem that disproportionately affects African American adolescents. There is a pressing need for more attention to be directed to the development of theoretically-based, research-validated, culturally sensitive preventive interventions and programs. This article focuses on the steps involved in the development, implementation, and evaluation of a culturally-specific program designed to reduce the prevalence of violent behaviors and related injuries and deaths among urban, African American teens. The project's success was heavily dependent upon the commitment and cooperation of the community organizations that participated in the field research. Although numerous unexpected challenges were encountered, the preliminary findings indicate that it is possible to effectively implement preventive interventions in urban communities with modest funding.     

Preventing Dating Violence in Public Schools

Abstract

Many communities offer programs aimed at improving teen dating skills and knowledge about violence and sexual behavior. This research study evaluates one such program, operated by an interagency collaborative. Each of four participating community agencies provided one hour of curriculum during one week of health class. Lecture, group activities, and films were used in the intervention. A 0 X 0 design was used to examine changes in knowledge and attitudes among 74 students. Results indicate that most students began with fairly high knowledge levels and appropriate attitudes. Nevertheless, the program did appear to have a positive impact on those who exhibited less knowledge about and more tolerant attitudes toward exploitive dating behaviors at pre-test. Implications of results for the school context are discussed.     

Welcome baby programs

SUMMARY

Several successful prevention programs are recognized as exemplars of implementation. Complicated multidimensional interventions with different goals and directed at different target populations have been conducted with a high degree of fidelity using a common set of strategies. Future research priorities involve identifying the specific factors that promote implementation and determining what levels of implementation are necessary to achieve maximum program impact.     

An Assessment of the Relationship Between the Quality of School-Based Tobacco Prevention Programs and Youth Tobacco Use

SUMMARY

This study presents data from an assessment of substance use prevention programs in 23 elementary and middle schools in northern and central Illinois. The quality of prevention programming was assessed based on program intensity, focus on tobacco, staff resources designated for prevention programs, and implementation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for tobacco prevention. Data from these four dimensions were used to calculate a Quality Index Score. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between individual level variables, school level variables and the outcomes of reported current tobacco use, intent to use tobacco in the coming year, and perceived efficacy of substance use prevention programs. No significant effects were found, indicating that exclusive use of even high quality school-based prevention programs may not be sufficient in changing youth behavior. However, school-based prevention programs may be an important component of a broader ecological approach that uses multiple, community-wide strategies to promote normative change.     

School Violence Interventions in the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative

Abstract

The Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative was designed to encourage collaboration among school districts and local community service providers in the provision of behavioral health prevention and early intervention efforts. These efforts would address the physical safety of students as well as provide mental health, violence prevention, and social skills services. One local SS/HS Initiative brought together community and school collaborators in an ambitious agenda that included 14 distinct programs that addressed the needs of over 110,000 students in a large school district. The purpose of the current paper is to report the results of the evaluation of two of the programs designed to reduce violent and disruptive behavior in schools. The programs include a school-based anger management program and a community-based, alternative-to-suspension program. Working in cooperation with program staff and the school district, quasi-experimental designs were used to measure change over time for students. The two studies demonstrate the application of multiple methodologies in evaluating the effectiveness of prevention and early intervention efforts with the aim of providing data to support program improvement and sustainability.     

A Response to the Critiques of Tobacco Sales and Tobacco Possession Laws

SUMMARY

Several researchers within the anti-smoking community have recently claimed that youth access tobacco programs are ineffective and drain limited resources. They make these claims because they feel that youth access programs do not affect teen smoking prevalence. Others have argued that anti-smoking interventions should not fine minors for possession of tobacco. In this last article, we provide a response to these arguments.     

E-Sites For Safe Schools

ABSTRACT

A substantial body of research indicates that positive school culture benchmarks are integrally tied to the success of school reform and change in general. Additionally, an emerging body of research suggests a similar role for school culture in effective implementation of school violence prevention and intervention efforts. However, little research is available that specifically focuses on the elements of school culture that promote the successful implementation of bullying intervention programs aimed at reducing the most prevalent form of school violence. Therefore, this case study attempted to identify the school culture characteristics that supported or interfered with implementation of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program from the viewpoint of school staff key informants in a junior high school in its second year of program implementation. Data were collected primarily from open-ended, semi-structured interviews along with informal observations and analysis of school documents. Themes emerging from the interviews were examined in relation to the findings from the observations and documents. School culture characteristics that supported implementation included a sense of family, warmth, collaboration, and connections among staff and between staff and students, combined with a central focus on learning as the primary mission of the school. Identified barriers to implementation included the local community served by the district that was slow to change and accept differences. Outcomes suggest that, beyond ensuring fidelity of implementing the core components of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, examining the characteristics of a school's culture that promote or impede implementation efforts might further ensure its success and integration.     

The Role of Community in Facilitating Service Utilization

SUMMARY

Guided by an integrated theory of parent participation, this study examines the role community characteristics play in influencing a parent's decision to use voluntary child abuse prevention programs. Multiple regression techniques were used to determine if different community characteristics, such as neighborhood distress and the community's ratio of caregivers to those in need of care, predict service utilization levels in a widely available home visiting program. Our findings suggest that certain community characteristics are significant predictors of the extent to which families utilize voluntary family supports over and above the proportion of variance explained by personal characteristics and program experiences. Contrary to our initial assumptions, however, new parents living in the most disorganized communities received more home visits than program participants living in more organized communities. The article concludes with recommendations on how community capacity building might be used to improve participant retention.     

Is Social Work the Best Educational Degree for Child Welfare Practitioners?

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this three-year research project was to identify the educational and training needs of public child welfare case managers and recommend baccalaureate programs that would best meet those needs. Surveys, focus groups, and content analyses were used to identify the learning needs. The social work curricula were found to contain the most comprehensive match of skill development and theoretical and values content with the learning needs of case managers.     

School Violence Prevention

Abstract

Objective: This study was designed to describe the level of violence in three high schools and to test the effects of universal and targeted strategies to reduce this violence.

Design:A repeated measures design with two baseline scores and two intervention scores was used during a two year period. Two rural high schools served as control schools with a single intervention high school.

Participants: All freshmen at the three high schools completed a self-report measure of school violence; 420 completed the study at the end of their sophomore year.

Method: Multiple universal and targeted interventions to prevent school violence were used for slightly more than one year. Scores on student Victimization and Perpetration, gathered one year apart, were compared using a pre-test post-test model.

Findings: Student reports of perpetration at the intervention school were significantly lower than the combined scores at the control school. Students, teachers, and administrators reported improved awareness, knowledge, and skills to implement violence prevention programs.

Conclusions: A comprehensive program that includes university and high school partnerships has the capability to reduce school violence during a short period. Despite limitations to the study, continued use of research partnerships to decrease school violence is war-ranted.