Answer: OK now follow along closely because it gets a bit confusing:

1. In 1953, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare was developed (HEW). Years later, HEW was changed to Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
2. DHHS created SAMHSA, Substance Abuse-Mental Health Services Administration.
3. Due to the overwhelming use of substances like alcohol, and other addictive drugs in the US, SAMHSA created CSAP, the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.
4. In 1997, CSAP created NREPP which was then called the National Registry for Effective Prevention Program. Shortly thereafter, the meaning of NREPP changed again.
5. NREPP today stands for National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices.

Q. What does “Evidence-Based” mean?

Answer: As defined by SAMHSA (Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration) a program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in the health care field, evidence-based practice (also called EBP) generally refers to approaches to prevention or treatment that are validated by some form of documented scientific evidence. What counts as evidence can vary. The Nurturing Parenting Programs are all evidence-based programs.

Q. Are there any concerns or limitations to EBPs?

Answer: One concern often stated in the health care, mental health, and social work fields is too much emphasis on EBPs in some cases restrict practitioners from exercising their own judgment to provide the best care and treatment for individuals. For this reason, many organizations have adopted definitions of evidence-based practice that emphasize balancing the “scientific” with the “practical.”

Q. What does “fidelity to the model” mean?

Answer: Fidelity to the model occurs when implementers of research-based programs or interventions closely follow the protocols and techniques that are defined as part of the intervention. For example, conducting assessments and evaluations using the recommended or provided tools. Flexibility to fidelity occurs when differences among ethnic, racial, and/or linguistic groups and awareness of how people’s cultural background, beliefs, traditions, socioeconomic status, history, and other factors affect their needs and how they respond to services.

Q. Nurturing Programs are listed in NREPP under the category “Legacy Programs”. What does that mean and why did Nurturing and a few other programs get labeled as Legacy?

Answer: Between 1997 and 2004, programs were reviewed by SAMHSA and were rated Effective and/or Promising. After 2004, the rating criteria changed because the standard of “effectiveness” changed. Programs that were rated between 1997 and 2004 retained the label Legacy, referring to their measured effectiveness nearly 15 years ago.

*Information generated to reply to the aforementioned questions was taken from the 1/28/ 2010 NREPP and SAMHSA newsletter.

Q. Is the NPP curricula trauma-Informed?

Answer: Many trauma cases require counseling and/ or therapy from intense and long term to moderate and short term. Nurturing program are psycho-educational in their approach and can be used in conjunction with other services to help individuals suffering the effects of trauma. As a stand alone, the Nurturing Programs would not suitable as a treatment for individuals suffering from severe traumatic experiences.

Q. Explain the AAPI, NSCS and PARTI and how they interact with each other.

Answer: The Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI) assess an individual's attitudes about raising children.

The Nurturing Skills Competency Scale (NSCS) provides a comprehensive profile of the individuals' present quality of life in addition to the quality of their childhood, the quality of their of the relationship with their children and with their adult partner. The NSCS also assesses an individuals' knowledge of parenting practices and the frequency in which the parents are utilizing these practices.

The Parenting Attitudes of Raising Teens Inventory (PARTI) assess the similarities and differences parents and their adolescents have regarding the life style of being a teen. Adolescence is a very fun but difficult period of development for many families. Differences in opinions, demands, dating, sexual activity, and independence often result in strained parent and teen relationships. The PARTI is a 40 item inventory designed to bring to awareness the similarities and differences parents and teens have as they both learn the skills of negotiation and compromise aimed at increasing the positive qualities of their relationship.

Q. Do the Nurturing Parenting Programs adhere to the Protective Factors? What are the protective factors?

Answer: The six Protective Factors developed by the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) is a research-informed, cost-effective strategy to increase family stability, enhance child development and reduce child abuse and neglect.. The six protective factors and integrated into the lessons of each of the Nurturing Programs. The six factors include: 1. Nurturing and Attachment; 2. Knowledge of Parenting and Youth Development; 3. Parental Resilience; 4. Social Connections; 5. Concrete Supports for Parents; Social and Emotional Competence of Children. The Nurturing Programs incorporate all of the Protective Factors in the lessons in each of the major Nurturing Programs.