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Implementation Specialist Team
Implementation Specialists collaborate with county agencies, school districts and community organizations who implement evidence-based programs (EBP). We strive to support the equitable dissemination, quality implementation, sustainability, and impact assessment for a menu of evidence-based prevention and intervention programs. By bringing evidence-based prevention and intervention programs to your communities, you can have great impact on the children, youth and families that you serve.
Thinking about bringing evidence-based programs to your school and/or local community? Implementation Specialists can assist in assuring that you are implementing the program well, with high quality, and you can collect the data to prove it!
In what ways do Implementation Specialists support you through implementing evidence-based programs?
| EBP 101 Training Videos | |
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This video series was created to provide viewers with training and support for the following topic areas: * Assessing Community Needs, * Selecting an EBP, * Creating a Strong Implementation Plan, * Creating a Strong Evaluation Plan, * Planning for Sustainability, and * Grant Writing. |
| Training | |
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Our program implementation staff receive formalized training by program developers. We track your program’s training needs to coordinate in-person and virtual statewide provider trainings. The coordination of these trainings means we can offer them at reduced rates, saving providers hundreds and even thousands of dollars. Click for a complete list of available "Current Trainings". |
| Evidence-based Programs Curriculum Library | |
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Many Evidence-based programs provide manuals that contain detailed scripts for those that deliver the program, videos, agendas to follow for each session, all to ensure your delivery produces the desired outcomes. These manuals and required core components are what was delivered when program’s research was being conducted. EPIS maintains an EBP Library with all of the materials need to implement the programs we support. Providers may access this library if they would like to review program curriculum/materials prior to purchasing them. |
| Model Fidelity | |
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Fidelity is the faithfulness with which a curriculum or program is implemented. Research tells us that the way a program is implemented influences the outcomes of the program. Implementing a program with fidelity improves the likelihood of replicating program effects with participants. EPIS helps program providers across the state access fidelity checklists, specific for their program that help to guide their work and ensure they are following the fidelity to the model. |
| Evaluation/Tracking Outcomes | |
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Measuring outcomes is an ongoing process of monitoring and reporting on a program's progress and accomplishments by using pre-selected performance measures. At EPIS, we assist program providers in utilizing Excel-based data tracking and reporting tools that will help collect and analyze program reach, implementation quality, and impact of the program on the participants. |
| Technical Assistance | |
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The EPISCenter has three roles – build general-capacity, build program-specific capacity, and facilitate communications across several systems (researchers, policy-makers, communities, and program providers). What are Examples of Technical Assistance? |
| Communicating Program Impact/Calculating Return on Investment | |
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The value of youth programs has not always been well understood. We have program-specific templates that will assist providers in effectively communicating information about their program reach, implementation quality and impact of your program in a visually engaging manner. These are meant to be shared with your practitioners, your Directors, your key leaders and stakeholders. For more information available to communicate your results Program Outcome Reports. |
EPIS Prevention Planning and Coalitions Support Systems Change Team
The Systems Change team provides training and technical assistance to systems-change efforts that are focused on healthy youth development in communities throughout the Commonwealth; most notably, with coalitions that focus on the Communities That Care Plus model a proven approach to preventing youth violence, delinquency and drug use, and promoting positive youth development and strong families.
Training and Technical Assistance is provided to individual and group audiences through in-person and/or virtual site meetings.
The team provides assistance and supports to a variety of state-level advisory groups, including the PA Youth Survey, Prevention Coalition Advisory Council of PA (PCAC), Commonwealth Prevention Alliance (CPA), Cross-Systems Prevention Workgroup, national CTC advisory groups, key stakeholders, and EPISCenter special projects.
| EPIS Pennsylvania Communities That Care Support | |
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Information regarding CTC, specifically within Pennsylvania, including direct connects to technical assistant providers. The Communities That Care developer website provides the basic structure and tools for CTC. |
| The Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS) Workbook & How-To Guide | |
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The PAYS Guide was designed to help you and your team to get the most out of your PAYS data by offering planning tools to:
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| School-Based Primary Prevention: A Key to Combating the Opioid Epidemic (Video Series) | |
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This video series was created in accordance with Pennsylvania public school code Act 55 of 2017. The Act outlines how districts and intermediate units address educational opportunities focused on alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. While this video series has a focus on the professional development mandate authorized in Act 55, it was also developed for use by anyone interested in learning more about the opioid epidemic, primary prevention, and how to improve the lives of youth and families. |
| Coalition Performance Measure Reporting Tool | |
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EPIS has a performance measure reporting tool to help coalitions, particularly Communities That Care (CTC) coalitions, to collect and report data to their board and other stakeholders. |
| The Social Development Strategy | |
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CTC’s Social Development Strategy promotes positive youth development. Used as part of CTC or as a separate prevention strategy, the knowledge on what protects young people from developing health and behavior problems is organized into an easy-to-use strategy. This strategy is also the basis for other evidence-based prevention programs. |
| Pennsylvania Start Campaign | |
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PA Start is a marketing campaign about building healthy, capable children. Meeting developmental needs while providing the right guidance to achieve is a delicate balancing act. It can be a challenge to families and educators. We want kids to grow in a safe environment and learn how to make good choices, but sometimes we are at a loss in knowing what works best |
| Prevention Coalition Advisory Council of PA – White Papers | |
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The Prevention Coalition Advisory Council of PA created white papers detailing the best practices of building effective prevention coalitions within PA. |
| Commonwealth Prevention Alliance | |
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CPA is a member-driven, grassroots organization whose mission is to support prevention professionals in eliminating substance abuse. They are a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization. Since 1976, CPA has kept the needs and concerns of the prevention professional and the field of substance abuse prevention as its key focus, and today it continues to be the foremost voice for prevention in Pennsylvania. |
If you have questions, please contact EPIS@psu.edu