Description of a Fidelity Implementation System: An Example from a Community-Based Children’s Mental Health Program

Evaluation of a Community-Based Peer-to-Peer Support Program for Parents of At-Risk Youth with Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties

“…PCs documented their weekly calls to parents using a standardized form, the Family Contact Log (FCL; Kutash et al 2012). For calls lasting longer than 5 min, the PC completed an FCL to record details of each call, such as the date, duration of each call, and the topics discussed during the call.…”

“…PCs also recorded the frequency with which each of the four program components (i.e., emotional support, promotion of positive attitudes towards engagement, informational support, and instrumental support) were discussed in each call by using a 14-item checklist provided on the FCL (see Kutash et al 2012). The completed FCLs were collected weekly during supervision and were used by the PC Coach to review the content and quality of each call and provide recommendations to the PC for future calls with the parent.…”

“…Core components of Parent Connectors include the provision of emotional support (e.g., to reduce feelings of blame and stigma), instrumental support (e.g., basic needs such as clothing, food, and housing assistance), informational support (e.g., special education regulations and procedures, strategies to support academic and behavioral success), and the promotion of positive attitudes toward building social support networks and positive relationships with community providers. The fourth component is consistent with the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen 1991) and is addressed by considering the family's level of social support, their perceived benefit of engagement in services for their child, and their perception of control surrounding aspects of their child's behavior and the services they receive (see Kutash et al 2012or Kutash et al 2013 for additional information). The core components of this intervention are delivered to participants through weekly phone calls from veteran parents, referred to as Parent Connectors, or PCs.…”

“…PCs are trained in the program model, effective communication skills, and appropriate self-disclosure over the course of 3 days using a manualized training curriculum. During the provision of services, a licensed mental health practitioner (referred to as the PC Coach) provides weekly supervision to PCs to monitor implementation of the intervention (Kutash et al 2012).…”

“…For Parent Connectors, participation may be conceptualized as the extent to which parents answer the phone and talk with PCs when they call. There are also two complimentary types of program adherence in the Parent Connectors intervention (Kutash et al 2012): (1) whether or not each key component of the program model was ever discussed with parents during the intervention (i.e., overall adherence) and (2) the frequency of weekly phone calls in which components of the intervention were discussed (i.e., adherence frequency). Given the importance of intervention fidelity, it is essential to examine the role of parent participation and program adherence within a parent-toparent program delivered via phone and their role in predicting family outcomes.…”