Service to Science Initiative

Technique used: Evaluation-focused, client-centered technical assistance

For ten years HHD has operated the Northeast Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies (NECAPT), funded by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. NECAPT has supported the efforts of innovative, locally-developed substance abuse prevention programs with a Service to Science initiative designed to strengthen the evaluation efforts of these programs through a combination of training events and customized technical assistance. This initiative aims to increase the pool of evidence-based interventions available to states and community organizations.

NECAPT's approach to Service to Science relies on a hands-on, client-centered model, in which evaluation experts collaborate with participating programs to address their unique evaluation challenges. Since 2004, NECAPT has worked with more than 75 programs in the Northeast region. These include community coalitions and other community-based prevention organizations using prevention strategies such as responsible server training, media literacy, peer-to-peer mentoring, and policy enforcement.

An analysis of this initiative found that programs participating in the NECAPT Service to Science initiative, along with those in the four other regional CAPTs, reported conducting evaluations with greater rigor.