Guidelines and Benchmarks for Prevention Programming (Adapted from Guidelines and Benchmarks for Prevention Programming: Implementation Guide, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 1997, pp. 6-8.) The following guidelines and recommendations can be used to assess the relative promise of existing prevention efforts, to plan and design new prevention efforts, or to identify areas for change or improvement in ongoing prevention efforts. SELECTION OF APPROPRIATE STRATEGIES: These guidelines will assist you to keep your effort focused on what is possible. 1. Knowledge of the Target Population Key Question 1: “Are there reasons to believe that the target population will be responsive to the prevention effort?” Recommendation 1.1 Base the prevention effort on a clear understanding and definition of the populations and groups to be influenced and a careful consideration of their patterns of substance use, cultures, value systems, and likelihood of responsiveness to the effort. 2. Clarity and Realism of Expected Results Key Question 2: “Are the intended results of the prevention effort clearly defined, and are they realistic in light of the nature of the effort and experiences with it thus far?” Recommendation 2.1 Focus the prevention effort on specific, realistic goals. Recommendation 2.2. Consider the goals of a specific prevention effort in the context of the larger prevention goals of the community, State, or Nation. 3. Corroborative Empirical Evidence of Potential Effectiveness Key Question 3: “Does evidence exist from comparable prevention efforts to support claims that the intended results are achievable through efforts of this type and scope?” Recommendation 3.1. When available, gather and use reliable empirical evidence of effectiveness from comparable programs to select and guide the current effort. 4. Conceptual Soundness Key Question 4: “Does a plausible explanation exist linking the prevention effort to its intended results?” Recommendation 4.1. Use a logical conceptual framework to connect the prevention effort with its intended results and ultimately with the overall goal of reducing substance abuse. Recommendation 4.2. Base the conceptual framework used to explain the prevention effort on existing knowledge, and refine or revise the framework as needed to reflect new learning from public health, behavioral sciences, and other fields. INTERRELATIONSHIPS AND APPROPRIATE STRUCTURE: These guidelines will help you to get the right mix of people and organizations involved in the effort in appropriate ways. 5. Inclusive Participation Key Question 5: “Does the prevention effort adequately involve key individuals and organizations in planning and implementation?” Recommendation 5.1. Include in the prevention effort activities that secure and maintain buy-in of key decisionmakers and leaders as well as of those organizations and individuals who directly or indirectly will be responsible for implementing the effort. 6. System Integration Key Question 6: “Does the design of the prevention effort adequately account for system interdependency?” Recommendation 6.1. Design and implement the prevention effort to build on and, in turn, support related prevention efforts. Recommendation 6.2. Design and implement the prevention effort with consideration for the strains it may place on different parts of the system. 7. Appropriate Structuring of the Effort Key Question 7: “Is the prevention effort scaled in size and complexity to match available resources and possibilities?” Recommendation 7.1. Carry out the prevention effort through activities consistent with the availability of personnel, resources, and realistic opportunities for implementation. Recommendation 7.2. Create opportunities for the exercise of leadership across a broad range of participants. IMPLEMENTATION CONSIDERATIONS: These guidelines will assist you to maximize the effectiveness of your prevention effort. 8. Appropriateness of Timing, Intensity, and Duration Key Question 8: “Is the prevention effort being implemented at an appropriate time and with sufficient intensity and duration to be effective?” Recommendation 8.1. Time the prevention effort so that implementation coincides with a period of peak community concern or the target population’s readiness for the change intended. Recommendation 8.2. Design the prevention effort for delivery with sufficient intensity (in exposure, breadth, and impact) to produce its intended results and be applied over appropriate duration so that these results can be sustained. 9. Attention to Quality of Delivery Key Question 9: “Has adequate attention been paid to the execution of each component of the prevention effort to ensure quality services and products?” Recommendation 9.1. Design and implement the prevention effort for the highest possible quality in each step of its execution. 10. Commitment to Evaluation and Effort Refinement Key Question 10: “Have provisions been made for continual tracking, documentation, evaluation, and feedback to ensure the effectiveness of the effort?” Recommendation 10.1. Pay adequate attention to monitoring and process and outcome evaluation. | 
