2011 · Study · English
Sustaining the Utilization and High Quality Implementation of Tested and Effective Prevention Programs Using the Communities That Care Prevention System
Fagan, A. A., Hanson, K., Briney, J. S., & Hawkins, J. D.
Fagan, A. A., Hanson, K., Briney, J. S., & Hawkins, J. D. (2011). Sustaining the Utilization and High Quality Implementation of Tested and Effective Prevention Programs Using the Communities That Care Prevention System. American Journal of Community Psychology, 49(3-4), 365–377. doi.org/10.1007/s10464-011-9463-9
Summary
Implementation paper in the American Journal of Community Psychology on whether CTC communities keep delivering tested programmes, with fidelity, after outside support ends. Data were collected from directors of community agencies and coalitions, school principals, service providers and teachers in the 24 communities of the randomised CTC evaluation, at two points: during the active project phase, when the 12 intervention communities received training, technical assistance and programme funding, and two years after those resources stopped. At both points the CTC communities showed significantly greater use and sustainment of tested, effective prevention programmes than the 12 control communities, and reached significantly more children and parents. Implementation quality was high in both conditions; the only significant difference was that CTC sites were more likely to monitor implementation quality during the sustainability phase. The message for European funders is twofold: adoption of evidence-based programmes persisted beyond the grant, and fidelity was not what distinguished CTC sites – monitoring was.