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Implementing an Evidence-Based Parenting Program in Community Agencies: What Helps and What Gets in the Way?

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Abstract

Adoption of evidence-based programs for families by community agencies requires an understanding of variables that influence implementation. Managers and service providers from 64 community agencies reported on variables that affected the implementation of Triple P, an evidence-based parenting program. Both types of stakeholders reported adequate office resources; over half the managers and over two-thirds of service providers reported adequate training. Adequate office resources and positive agency characteristics, including organizational climate, were associated with higher program usage. Service providers’ reports of the variables impacted their individual adherence rates; managers had broader perspectives of the quality of implementation in their organizations.

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Acknowledgments

The data for this study were collected in partial completion of the first author’s doctoral dissertation. We would like to thank our colleagues in the Evidence-Based Parenting Research Working Group (Sue Barnes, Brian Beech, Sandra Cunning, Fred Schmidt, and Susan Stern) for their helpful suggestions throughout the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, 136 Jean Jacques Lussier, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada

    Veronica Asgary-Eden & Catherine M. Lee

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  1. Veronica Asgary-Eden
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  2. Catherine M. Lee
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Correspondence to Veronica Asgary-Eden.

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Asgary-Eden, V., Lee, C.M. Implementing an Evidence-Based Parenting Program in Community Agencies: What Helps and What Gets in the Way?. Adm Policy Ment Health 39, 478–488 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-011-0371-y

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