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Leadership Letter:
Blueprints is a privately funded nonprofit organization housed in the Prevention Science Program within the Institute of Behavioral Science at the University of Colorado Boulder.
We are the longest-standing registry of evidence-based interventions and internationally recognized for our work in the field.
In 2018, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and World Health Organization suggested that national standards globally enforce a requirement of implementing evidence-based strategies only by utilizing registries such as Blueprints, citing us by name (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Health Organization, 2018, p. 42).
Funding History
Blueprints began in 1996 as an initiative of the State of Colorado, with initial funding from the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
Blueprints was later supported (starting in 2010) by the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) to expand the registry’s focus beyond violence prevention to include positive behavioral outcomes.
Following AECF, Arnold Ventures has funded Blueprints core operations, which include:
- Conducting Blueprints reviews (see Blueprints review process).
- Providing a detailed account on the Blueprints website of each certified intervention (i.e., those that receive a rating of Promising, Model or Model Plus).
- Support of other communication activities designed to promote the Blueprints registry as a resource for scientifically proven and scalable interventions (e.g., through social media, a quarterly e-newsletter, presentations, etc.).
With support from Arnold Ventures, Blueprints also lists information on all interventions we review and has one page on our website for identifying certified interventions (i.e., those rated as Promising, Model or Model Plus) and a separate page for non-certified interventions to reduce confusion and increase transparency of the Blueprints review process.
Continuation Grant
Arnold Ventures recently awarded Blueprints a two-year grant (starting July 1, 2022) to support our core operations. In addition, Arnold Ventures is providing funding for Blueprints to:
- Communicate important findings on effective interventions to the practitioner, policy, funder, and research communities by extending and strengthening the Blueprints rating system to incorporate meta-analysis into its thorough and reflective review process, thus assisting the Blueprints Advisory Board in making recommendations for Model and Model Plus interventions that are ready for scale.
- Increase the use of rigorous evidence through partnerships and nonpartisan educational efforts focused on promoting the use of evidence about what works to increase the effectiveness of U.S. social spending and improve people’s lives.
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We are deeply grateful to all our funders, past and present, for their investment in Blueprints – demonstrating their commitment to promoting a strong scientific standard of evidence for identifying effective prevention interventions that provide a high probability of success when taken to scale in communities.
Part of Arnold Ventures’ mission is to invest in evidence-based solutions that maximize opportunity and minimize injustice. With this continuation grant to Blueprints, Arnold Ventures adds to its portfolio of strategies designed to increase the effectiveness of social spending using rigorous evidence about what works. Learn more about Arnold Ventures’ work in correcting systemic failures through evidence-based solutions.
And, as always, thank you to all of you for your continued interest in and support of Blueprints!
Sincerely,
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Pamela Buckley, PhD
PI, Blueprints Initiative
Pamela.Buckley@Colorado.edu
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Karl G. Hill, PhD
Board Chair and Co-PI
Karl.Hill@Colorado.edu
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Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development is housed at the University of Colorado Boulder, Institute of Behavioral Science, with current support from Arnold Ventures.
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Featured Model Program
Early College High School Model
Blueprints Certified: 2018
Ages Served: Late Adolescence (15-18) – High School
Program Outcomes: Academic Performance, Post-Secondary Education
A high school model designed to increase students’ access to a postsecondary credential, particularly for underrepresented students. The goal is to minimize challenges in the transition to postsecondary education for students for whom access has historically been problematic.
Learn more about Early College High School Model
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Featured Promising Program
Cannabis eCHECKUP TO GO
Blueprints Certified: 2021
Ages Served: Early Adulthood (19-22)
Program Outcomes: Marijuana/Cannabis
A brief, web-based personalized feedback program that aims to reduce the harms associated with cannabis use in college students by increasing protective behavioral strategies and correcting misperceived norms for cannabis use.
Learn more about Cannabis eCHECKUP TO GO
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Blueprints Talks
- On June 5th, Blueprints PI Dr. Pamela Buckley presented to Maternal and Child Health Fellows (legislators) via the National Conference of State Legislators. The session highlighted strategies and policy options for improving health and well-being during the prenatal to early childhood timeframe. State legislators learned about the infrastructure and evidence behind home visiting and early care and education programs, including Blueprints-certified Model and Model Plus programs shown to improve outcomes for young children, mothers, and families. Download the session slides.
- Blueprints board and staff gave several talks at the Society for Prevention Research (SPR) annual meeting, held in Seattle, WA May 31-June 3:
- Dr. Christine Steeger recently represented Blueprints in a virtual meeting hosted by the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA), a nonprofit advocacy organization working to promote and advance the social and behavioral sciences in federal policymaking, by presenting four key talking points: (1) Prevention works; (2) Where do we find effective programs? Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development; (3) Prevention planning strategies exist to guide communities through a process of organization, planning, implementation of effective interventions, and monitoring of their progress; and (4) Prevention is cost effective.
Blueprints Interventions in the News
Relevant articles and helpful resources
In case you have missed them, here are a few articles and web postings that discuss Blueprints and/or feature some of our Blueprints’ Model, Model Plus and Promising Interventions:
- This recent National Public Radio story provides a human perspective on the impact of the LifeSet foster care program. LifeSet is a Blueprints-certified Promising community-based program that assists young people with histories of foster care or juvenile justice involvement in making a successful transition to adulthood by providing intensive, individualized, and clinically focused case management, support, and counseling.
- A recent piece from MDRC mentions Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP), a Blueprints Model Plus program, as an example of an evidence-based intervention that helps support college completion among low-income young adults. Read the full commentary piece.
- Communities that Care is a prevention system that is Blueprints-certified Promising for reducing adolescent delinquency and substance misuse through the selection and implementation of evidence-based interventions tailored to a community’s unique needs. Read this article about how one CTC coalition refocused on prioritizing health equity and racial justice in their work.
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