The PROSPER Partnership Model: Evidence Based Programs That Reduce Risky Youth Behaviors,

Enhance Positive Youth Development, And Strengthen FamiliesJamie Blum Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853

Introduction: PROSPER (PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience) is a delivery system designed to facilitate the implementation of evidence based programs. Both the model and programs of PROPSER are effective at reducing risky decision making in teenagers by strengthening families and communities. The PROSPER model is based on over 20 years of research funded by the National Institute of Health and was first developed in Iowa State. The model works by connecting the Cooperative Extension System, school, and Ccmmunity volunteers. Individuals representing these venues join youth volunteers and parents on a committee which selects and implements programs for the community. PROSPER relies on a strong network between the state management team, prevention coordinator and a community team to implement high quality programs into the community. Implementation of PROSPER occurs over a 3 year period. In the first year, community teams are established, the second year begins the family based program and in the third year the youth program begins. In New York State, Livingston and Schuyler Counties were selected for participation in PROPSER. Both counties are on the second year of implementation and have chosen the Strengthening Families Program for Parents and Youth 10-14 (SFP) as their family based program.

Progress:Community Outreach and Participant Recruitment:• Displayed 30 PROSPER posters in the

Dansville community, 12 of which were self standing and had information cards available for interested participants

• Information cards advertising a PROSPER information session were handed out by volunteers from the Dansville high school, PROSPER team members and myself at the memorial day parade

• Designed and uploaded a Dansville PROSPER website which has been linked to the CCE Livingston County homepage

• Wrote a letter to 5th grade parents which was sent home in backpacks advertising the information session for PROSPER

• Wrote an all-call script which was recorded and sent to all 5th grade parents informing of the of the PROSPER information session

• Information session about PROSPER was held in June with special guest and presenter Dr. Kimberly Kopko from Cornell University

• Created a brochure with an overview of PROSPER and SFP and enrollment information for participants

Running Team Meetings and Sustaining Team Functioning:• Created and circulated agendas for

team meetings• Made Coffee Cake and Candles as a

thank you to volunteers• Led meetings and used group

insights to improve publicity materials and prepare for the program onset

• Improved team communication by sending out a meeting summary within a week of the meeting including the date of the next meeting

Preparing for SFP Onset:• Copied facilitator manual directions and organized directions and

master copies into a 3 tote system (parents, youth, joint session)• Made copies of program materials for participants and sorted into the

totes for easy use

Discussion: Implementing PROSPER over the summer provided me with numerous opportunities for personal growth and achievement. I learned about evidence based programming and using a model for program implementation. I learned that a large concern with evidence based programs is the fidelity of implementation; PROSPER works to maintain fidelity of programs by training observers to watch the sessions and provide feedback. I experienced the process of reading about a program and then actually taking the steps to properly implement that program into a community. The PROSPER network page has many resources for program implementation and with the help of Donna Horton and the community team I learned to navigate those resources and to determine their appropriateness for use in Dansville. In the absence of a suitable resource, I was given the responsibility of creating the necessary document. I learned professional skills. I was given my own office space and spent hours of unmonitored time pacing myself and prioritizing assignments. At the Dansville community team meetings, I was responsible to create an agenda with the important talking points. I also facilitated the meeting. It was my first time leading a meeting which consisted entirely of adults. I also was responsible to prepare reports of my progress and present at monthly staff meetings. I learned about the publication process in an office. Whenever I created a publication for distribution it had to be approved by all three administrative assistants in the office. They gave me a lot of pointers on how to prioritize the information which should be included on a handout and organize the information in a way which focused viewers attention to the main points.

I was able to interact with numerous county wide organizations dedicated to enhancing youth development. Donna Horton allowed me to accompany her to a Livingston County Youth Bureau meeting and a Safe Communities Committee meeting. These meetings introduced me to the wide breadth of youth organizations in the county.

I am really grateful to have had the opportunity to help with theImplementation of PROSPER this summer. Through this real world experience I learned a lot of valuable lessons which I know will help me both through the remainder of my education and with my future career. I am very thankful for all of the people who guided me and assisted me throughout the experience. I am excited to visit the CCE office in January and witness the onset of the program and fruition of my work.

Assignments: This summer I had the pleasure of working at the Livingston County Cornell Cooperative Extension office under the supervision of Family and Consumer Science Issues Leader Donna Horton. While my office was in Livingston County, I developed resources for both Livingston and Schuyler Counties. I had three main assignments for the summer:Community Outreach and Participant Recruitment

• Potential participants must be aware that the program will be occurring and informed of the benefits and incentives for participating.

Running Team Meetings and Sustaining Team Functioning• A strong functioning community team is a vital part of the

PROSPER model. I was responsible for creating and circulating agendas for team meetings, conducting the meetings and adequately thanking our team volunteers for their contributions.

Preparing for SFP Onset• I helped recruit facilitators, organize program materials,

schedule and plan a training session for new facilitators and consider potential funding sources for program costs.

Figure 3: One of the many PROSPER posters displayed in the

Dansville Community

Figure 5: Candles with a tag reading “Thank you for volunteering you help to light up PROSPER” were distributed to

team members at the July meeting

Figure 4: Uploading the new PROSPER homepage onto the CCE Livingston website with the help of

Courtney Veaunt

Figure 1: The PROPSER Network Team

Figure 2: The Livingston County CCE Office where I worked over

the summer

Figure 8: Organizing materials for SFP in my

office

Figure 6: Totes used to organize SFP materials

Figure 7 : Sorting and organizing SFP materials into totes