Poster #167 - The Role of Readiness in Promoting Effective Adoption of Evidence-Based Practices in Comprehensive Prevention Models

• In Event: 3-053 - Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: PS 10 Section - Prevention and Interventions

Integrative Statement

Background: Researchers are partnering with educators in 46 middle schools in Colorado to implement the Safe Communities Safe Schools (SCSS) model. The model seeks to prevent and reduce problem behavior, address mental and behavioral health concerns, and increase pro-social behavior in students by addressing key malleable risk and protective factors. This comprehensive model consists of three core program components: developing a functioning school-based team, building capacity around using data for decision making, and implementing evidence-based programs including multi-tiered systems of support. As social media raises public concern about school shootings and youth suicide rates, this work tests the extent to which we can translate scientific prevention research into the effective implementation of a school-based model for fostering positive mental health and school climate.
Methods: Researchers used a two-step readiness process to ensure that the schools had met a threshold of readiness prior to beginning the intervention. First, implementation managers conducted readiness feasibility visits to assess indicators including leadership’s support of SCSS and the presence of a school-based champion. Second, school-based teams completed a 90-item readiness assessment to assess constructs such as the degree to which leadership has created structures that support implementation (Leadership support) and expect, reward, and support the SCSS model (Priority).
Findings: Readiness assessment data from the first two years of implementation suggest changes in readiness in the expected direction, with significant increases for leadership support for the SCSS model, t(49)= 2.51, p < .05, and priority to implement the SCSS model t(49)= 2.35, p < .05. The data also indicate that schools had a champion that supported the SCSS model at onset (Means for Champion=5.65 [Year 1], 5.87 [Year 2]), school staff believed early on that this model was compatible with the school’s existing values, cultural norms, and past experiences (Means for Compatibility=6.06 [Year 1] , 6.10 [Year 2]), and school staff perceived implementation of the SCSS model to be a positive experience in both years (Means for Joy =6.18 [Year 1], 6.17 [Year 2)].
Implications for Future Research: Two years of data from a randomized controlled trial of the SCSS model suggest that the model shows promising results for improving the accessibility, adoption, and implementation of evidence-based programs in prevention research for positive child development. We will continue to evaluate the implementation of developmentally appropriate prevention strategies that are theoretically grounded in the most current child development literature in the final year of the study.

Authors

• Elizabeth Spier, American Institutes for Research
  Presenting Author

• Allison Dymnicki, American Institutes for Research
  Non-Presenting Author

• Frances Miller, American Institutes for Research
  Non-Presenting Author

• Beverly Kingston, Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sabrina Arredondo Mattson, University of Colorado at Boulder
  Non-Presenting Author