Research to Practice Report Briefs

Issue 1: Culturally Appropriate Programming (January 2007)
In this brief, we review the research on whether evidence-based programs are equally effective for youth from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Issue 2: Strategies for recruiting and retaining participants in prevention programs (February 2007)
This brief offers strategies based in research and practice for making a program attractive and worthwhile to youth and families, recruiting participants, and keeping them involved.

Issue 3: Guidelines for selecting an evidence-based program (March 2007)
There are several important considerations when selecting an evidence-based program for implementation. With questions to ask yourself and a list of online program registries, this brief gives you the tools you need to assess whether a program is the right one to implement in your community.

Issue 4: Program fidelity and adaptation (April 2007)
In this brief, we review the types of changes that are often made to programs when they are implemented, and the effects these changes can have. We also suggest strategies for maintaining program effectiveness while ensuring that the program is appealing to participants and meets local needs.

Issue 5: Finding effective solutions to truancy (July 2007)
Taking a developmental, ecological approach, we examine the roles of students, parents, schools, and communities in truancy. We describe two critical components of truancy reduction approaches: Families, schools, and communities need to work together to set rules for school attendance and to enforce the rules quickly and consistently; and schools need to be places where students want to be.

Issue 6: Evidence-based programs: An overview (October 2007)
Discussions of evidence-based programs typically assume a certain level of familiarity with the subject. This brief describes what it means for a program to be "evidence-based," the advantages and disadvantages of adopting and implementing evidence-based programs, and where you can learn more about evidence-based programs.

Issue 7: Girls in the juvenile justice system: Toward effective gender-responsive programming (January 2008)
Professionals at all levels of the juvenile justice system are struggling with how to effectively meet the needs of female juvenile offenders. In this brief, we examine the characteristics of girls in the juvenile justice system and suggest some promising strategies for creating a more gender-responsive juvenile justice system.

Issue 8: What Works, Wisconsin Evidence-based Parenting Program Directory (January 2009)