Designing a Strategy for Statewide Implementation of a Public Mental Health Promotion Intervention

Project Summary:

Early exposure to abuse/neglect is associated with long-term health challenges, including the top causes of death in WI: heart disease, cancer, and unintentional injuries. Most child maltreatment in WI is committed by parents (68%). High-quality child care centers can serve as a buffer. However, serious staffing challenges in WI are contributing to reduced quality of child care.

The Triple P (Positive Parenting Program) is an evidence-based public mental health promotion strategy, effective for preventing social-emotional-behavioral problems in children by increasing the use of positive parenting/caregiving styles. Supporting Families Together Association (SFTA) administers both the statewide network of Family Resource Centers (FRCs, which serve families) and the statewide network of Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R, which serves early childhood educators). SFTA has successfully led Triple P implementation through WI’s FRC Network for 8 years.

As a next step, SFTA proposes an implementation study that will inform expansion of Triple P through the CCR&R network and into child care centers across WI.

This project aims to:

1. Design an implementation strategy that supports effective delivery of Triple P in rural and urban WI child care centers.
2. Conduct a pilot study to determine the feasibility of the implementation strategy and clinical effectiveness of the Triple P intervention.
3. Develop recommendations and advocate for statewide scale-up with key WI decision-makers and opinion leaders (e.g., Department of Children and Families, Legislators).

This initiative is a critical first step toward integrating two key mental health promotion service delivery systems in WI (FRC and CCR&R Networks), which would expand access to evidence-based services for children/caregivers and lead to the use of consistent strategies at both home AND in child care settings. This system change would accelerate improvements in public health/equity in WI for generations.