Proud to Partner with
Notable Projects
Though we have led and contributed to a broad diversity of initiatives and demographics, our mission has been singular: Communities thrive when we work together. Begin by selecting a category below.
Research and Evaluation
TAGS: ALASKA, HEALTH CURRICULUM, HIGH SCHOOL, TEENS
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Fourth Alaska Statewide Evaluation
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SPS directed a three-year research project in Alaska that tested whether an evidence-based school health curriculum designed in Canada (Fourth R), was effective when adapted and implemented among Alaskan populations. This was the first evaluation of the Fourth R within the United States. Specifically, the study was a multi-site statewide quasi-experimental evaluation of the Fourth R, a comprehensive 9th grade school health curriculum. The purpose of the study was to determine if youth who participated in the Fourth R curriculum improved their applied knowledge, attitudes, behavioral intentions and behaviors, and increased protective factors more than youth who participated in a regular health class. Over 500 ninth graders in thirteen schools across twelve communities in Alaska participated in this study. Six of these schools implemented the Fourth R curriculum, while the remaining seven schools implemented their regular health class and served as a comparison group.
Youth who participated in the Fourth R were statistically significantly different than comparison group youth in:
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Improved awareness of abusive behavior
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Reduced adherence to rape myths
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Increased positive social support among youth with high ACE scores
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And were trending toward statistical difference in:
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Reduced acceptance of physical aggression
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A unique contribution of this study to the field of violence prevention is the connection of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and high-risk populations to positive improvements after participation in a comprehensive health education curriculum. A high number of youth who participated in this study reported having experienced four or more ACEs in their lifetime. For a number of the study outcomes, we found that youth who had experienced more ACEs were more significantly impacted by the Fourth R program than youth who had not participated in the Fourth R. This finding aligns with the current proposition within prevention science indicating that youth who are at a higher risk for adverse outcomes may benefit the most from socio-emotional programming. The research team included organizational partners within and outside of Alaska, including the state domestic violence/sexual assault coalition, Department of Education, and Department of Health and Social Services, Governor’s Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and the University of Western Ontario, Canada. The collaborative partnership that resulted from this research study, and was led by Wendi Siebold, is noted as a model for utilizing multi-sectoral collaborations to leverage resources for advanced community-based research studies.
Download the final evaluation report here.
Alaska Green Dot Community Pilot Evaluation
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SPS was contracted by the State of Alaska to evaluate the pilot implementation of the community version of the Green Dot violence prevention strategy across Alaska. Wendi Siebold directed the project in partnership with staff from Green Dot, Inc. Focus groups were conducted in five pilot communities to determine the scope, successes and challenges of implementation. Findings were communicated to Green Dot, Inc. and were used to inform the implementation of Green Dot in both Alaska and other communities in the United States.
Green Dot Community Action & Mattering Study
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Wendi Siebold is consulting on this research project awarded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to test the new community-version of the Green Dot strategy. The project is being directed by the University of New Hampshire’s Dr. Victoria Banyard and Dr. Katie Edwards. While it builds on founding Green Dot principles of mobilizing bystander intervention, Green Dot Community goes beyond individual levels of prevention strategies. Rather it focuses on building community-level engagement and changing two key community level factors that have been implicated in rates of sexual violence and intimate partner violence: collective efficacy and injunctive norms. The current project uses a quasi-experimental research design to evaluate the effectiveness of Green Dot Community to reduce rates of sexual violence and intimate partner violence in two communities in contrast to two matched comparison communities and one matched alternate treatment community.
CDC Delta (National Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative)
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SPS staff and contractors lead the full-time empowerment evaluation of the state of Alaska, Florida, California and Idaho’s CDC-funded DELTA statewide initiative, which funds domestic violence state and community coalitions to do primary prevention of intimate partner violence and involves a statewide multi-stakeholder planning process for each state’s primary prevention of intimate partner violence/domestic violence. From 2006 – 2011 we also were contracted with Montana in the same capacity. From 2010-2012, we worked with Kansas in the same capacity.
Washington Pregnant And Parenting Women And Teens Project
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In this project, SPS worked closely with project partners to evaluate the implementation of statewide guidelines for addressing and preventing reproductive coercion within the fields of health care, law enforcement, prosecution, and domestic and sexual violence advocacy. The Pregnant and Parenting Women and Teens Project was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Pregnancy Assistance Fund, created by the Affordable Care Act. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) was the lead agency for the grant. The Attorney Generals’ Office (AGO) provided the project coordination and administration of funds for both the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs (WCSAP) and the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WSCADV).
Washington Housing First Project
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SPS was funded to evaluate the first cohort of this pilot project to obtain permanent housing for survivors of domestic violence. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and administered by the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Native Aspirations National Evaluation
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From 2008-2011 SPS was part of a larger team of evaluators, including ICF International, EMT Associates, and University of Colorado at Denver. Staff at SPS were the Evaluation Liaisons for the Northwest Alaskan villages that are participating in this national project focused on preventing suicide, bullying and violence in highest need communities in Indian Country. We also provide content-specific trainings for community members and project staff at Kauffman & Associates (KAI). This project is funded by SAMHSA.