Sustainability of the Communities That Care Prevention System by Coalitions Participating in the Community Youth Development Study

Abstract

Purpose Community prevention coalitions are a common strategy to mobilize stakeholders to implement tested and effective prevention programs to promote adolescent health and well-being. This paper examines the sustainability of Communities That Care (CTC) coalitions approximately 20 months after study support for the intervention ended. Methods The Community Youth Development Study (CYDS) is a community-randomized trial of the CTC prevention system. Using data from 2007 and 2009 coalition leader interviews, this study reports changes in coalition activities from a period of study support for CTC (2007) to 20 months following the end of study support for CTC (2009), measured by the extent to which coalitions continued to meet specific benchmarks. Results Twenty months after study support for CTC implementation ended, 11 of 12 CTC coalitions in the CYDS still existed. The 11 remaining coalitions continued to report significantly higher scores on the benchmarks of phases 2 through 5 of the CTC system than did prevention coalitions in the control communities. At the 20-month follow-up, two-thirds of the CTC coalitions reported having a paid staff person. Conclusions This study found that the CTC coalitions maintained a relatively high level of implementation fidelity to the CTC system 20 months after the study support for the intervention ended. However, the downward trend in some of the measured benchmarks indicates that continued high-quality training and technical assistance may be important to ensure that CTC coalitions maintain a science-based approach to prevention, and continue to achieve public health impacts on adolescent health and behavior outcomes.

Effects of Communities That Care on Males’ and Females’ Drug Use and Delinquency 9 Years After Baseline in a Community‐Randomized Trial

“…Support ended after the 5th year of the study. Although almost all CTC coalitions were still active during the following unsupported period (Gloppen et al 2012), and some continued to implement programs for middle and junior high school students, very few coalitions provided preventive interventions for high school students in this period. Table A1 in Online Appendix A shows the study’s design and timeline.…”

Assessing Sustained Effects of Communities That Care on Youth Protective Factors

“…Even after program supports had ended (e.g., study training, technical assistance, and financial support had ended, key leaders in CTC communities continued to report higher levels of adoption of a science-based approach to prevention than control communities (Rhew, Brown, Hawkins, & Briney, 2013). One year after study support and funding for communities were discontinued, CTC coalitions were largely still engaged with CTC activities (Gloppen, Arthur, Hawkins, & Shapiro, 2012) and continued to report higher use of tested and effective prevention programs as compared with their control counterparts (Fagan, Hanson, Briney, & Hawkins, 2012). …”

Effects of the Communities That Care System on Cross-Sectional Profiles of Adolescent Substance Use and Delinquency

“…33 By spring 2010, intervention communities had been implementing CTC with technical and financial support from the study for 5 years and without study support for 2 additional years. Eleven of the original 12 CTC coalitions were still active 39 and intervention sites were delivering effective prevention programming at higher rates than control communities. 40 …”