This resource outlines key strategies for developing a skilled prevention workforce, emphasizing the importance of clear competencies, structured training pathways, supportive workplace environments, and ongoing professional development to equip practitioners with the knowledge and skills needed to implement evidence-based prevention effectively. It describes practical actions—such as defining role-specific competencies, using competency-based training and coaching, fostering cross-sector collaboration, and building organizational systems that support retention and career advancement—to strengthen workforce capacity and sustainability in prevention practice.
Source: Colorado State University Implementation Toolbox
Fidelity Checklist: Observer-Report
This document is an observer-report fidelity monitoring checklist designed for a third-party observer to systematically record whether an evidence-based program was delivered as intended, including adherence to core components, facilitator behaviors, pacing, and participant engagement. Its purpose is to support objective fidelity assessment during implementation so teams can identify strengths and areas for improvement and ensure high-quality delivery.
Fidelity Checklist: Self-Report
This document is a self-report fidelity monitoring checklist that facilitators of an evidence-based program can complete after sessions to assess how closely the program was delivered as intended, covering areas such as adherence to core components, dosage/exposure, quality of delivery, and participant engagement. It is intended for use when a program does not provide its own fidelity tool and helps teams monitor and improve implementation quality over time.
Fidelity Checklists for Specific Evidence-Based Programs
This link provides access to several evidence-based programs listed on the Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development registry, including the Blues Program, Botvin LifeSkills Training (LST) program, Strengthening Families Program 10-14, Project Towards No Drug Abuse, Positive Action, and Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS).
Guidebook for Fidelity and Adaptation of Evidence-Based Programs
This guidebook provides practical guidance on implementing evidence-based programs (EBPs) with fidelity while making thoughtful, planned adaptations to fit local contexts without undermining core components. It explains why maintaining fidelity to the original program design matters for achieving expected outcomes and offers strategies for balancing strict adherence with necessary, documented adjustments. The resource is intended to help implementation teams select, adapt, and monitor EBPs in ways that preserve effectiveness and strengthen community relevance.
Logic Model Template
This document is a logic model template designed to help teams plan and describe how a program is intended to work by outlining its resources (inputs), activities/outputs, short-term outcomes, and long-term impacts, and encouraging clear specification of the program theory of change and dosage. It serves as a practical tool for guiding program planning, implementation, communication, and evaluation by visually linking what a program invests and does to the results it aims to achieve.
Outcome Evaluation
The Outcome Evaluation Tool offers step-by-step guidance for planning and conducting an outcome evaluation, which measures how well a program achieves its intended effects on participant outcomes. It explains what outcome evaluation is and why it matters, outlines evaluation design options (e.g., pre-post designs, control groups), provides tips for selecting valid and reliable measures and managing data collection, and offers practical advice on data analysis and using findings to assess program impact and inform future decisions.
Process Evaluation
The Steps for Process Evaluation resource outlines how to assess whether a program is being implemented as planned by systematically tracking key aspects of delivery. It guides teams to plan the process evaluation before implementation, identify what to measure (e.g., participant characteristics, attendance/utilization, fidelity/adherence, participant satisfaction, staff perceptions, work-plan adherence), determine data collection methods, assign responsibilities and timelines, and then analyze and summarize findings to inform midcourse corrections and support quality implementation. These steps help ensure the program runs according to design and provide documentation that can improve current and future implementations.
Adapting Evidence-Based Programs (EBPs) Part I: The do’s and do not’s
This brief provides guidance on making thoughtful adaptations to evidence-based programs (EBPs) while protecting their essential components. It uses a “traffic light” approach to distinguish types of changes—green-light adaptations that improve fit without compromising core elements, yellow-light changes that require careful consideration and consultation, and red-light changes that should be avoided because they could reduce effectiveness. The resource emphasizes planning, consulting program developers or technical assistance providers before adapting, and documenting any approved adaptations to support fidelity and positive outcomes.
Program Sustainability
This document provides practical guidance on planning for and maintaining the long-term continuation of evidence-based prevention programs in community settings. It explains why sustainability matters for lasting public health impact, outlines key factors and strategies that support sustained implementation (such as leadership support, ongoing funding, and integration into existing systems), and offers tools for assessing and strengthening a program’s capacity to endure beyond initial implementation. This guidance helps implementation teams move from project start-up to durable practice that continues to benefit communities over time.