Measuring and Tracking Statewde Model Program Fidelity

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed project will expand Washington State's capacity to monitor fidelity and outcomes as we foster dissemination of a science-based, model prevention program, Strengthening Families Program for Parents and Youth 10-14 (SFP). The effectiveness of SFP has been well demonstrated, and some communities in the State are implementing it on a scale that could have a public health impact. However the promise of substance use prevention programs depends on learning how to disseminate and replicate them according to their developers' original designs. As researchers have argued, though, real-world program implementations may differ from researcher-driven trials in content, process, and structure (Schinke, et al., 2002; Ringwalt et al., 2003; Ennett et al., 2003). The proposed research will identify regularly occurring deviations or adaptations across a wide variety of SFP implementation settings, learn why they occur, and begin to learn how they affect program outcomes. We will feed this knowledge back to the field with the goal of improving prevention practice. We at the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse (DASA) have been requiring science-based prevention programming for several years and have developed a management information system (MIS) to track programming. The Extension system of Washington State University (WSU) has trained people across the state to implement SFP, and has conducted implementation research among those trainees. The collaboration with WSU utilizes DASA's MIS and our partnerships with local providers to gather program implementation data. The research findings will improve DASA and WSU Extension's understanding of the implementation process and will inform the design and delivery of technical support. This expanded partnership with local program providers, and potentially other state agencies, will facilitate high-quality dissemination of SFP and other science-based programs.