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## Breadcrumb

            -  Evidence for Program Improvement 
            -  Externalizing and Skill building 
            -           Have "Specialized" Staff Deliver Your Program      

# Have "Specialized" Staff Deliver Your Program

## Outcome

### Externalizing Behavior

## Intervention Family

### Skill-Building Interventions

 Skill Building Interventions              Use specialist staff              Use lesson plans              Emphasize conflict resolution skills              Family relationships or parenting skills       

## Have "Specialized" Staff Deliver Your Program

## Evidence

The 23 skill-building interventions **delivered by specialists** such as school psychologists, social workers, or trained youth prevention specialists, showed greater reductions in participants’ externalizing behavior than those taught by other personnel, including volunteers, teachers, researchers, and law enforcement officers.

When possible, use “specialized” staff such as social workers, psychologists, case workers, or other trained prevention professionals or paraprofessionals to deliver your program. What specialized skills do these roles have in common that might drive more effective skill-building programs? Individuals with skills such as teaching, crisis intervention and counseling, and building rapport with youth may be better equipped to help young people navigate the complexities of social interactions and understand and manage their emotional responses to them. When staff have an understanding of cognitive, social, and emotional development in youth, they can explain or model social skills for youth in ways that are appropriate for their skill level and stage of development.

The interventions in our database that used “specialists” included staff with training in education, social work, or counseling and psychology, as well as trained paraprofessionals. Staff with these qualifications may be employed by the school or school district, or by organizations external to the school. In either case, they may be more effective than other types of delivery personnel because teaching social skills to youth is a core part of their job function. For example, a school psychologist will likely see a coping skills intervention as a key part of her contribution to the school, while a teacher would not.

## Assess Feasibility

                          - Training and Qualifications. .  	Consider the types of training and expertise among your staff who work directly with youth. Are there key gaps in knowledge or skills?
                          - Resources. .  	Consider your staffing budget. Are there opportunities for you to hire specialized staff members? Provide professional development to existing staff?
                          - Planning. .  	In the future, do you have a pipeline or access to staff with specialized skills? Does your job description clearly indicate a preference for training or experience with child and youth development, teaching social-emotional skills, or social work and counseling, as appropriate?

## Take Action

Consider the following courses of action depend on the feasibility of your assessment:
                          - If you deliver personnel are teachers, volunteers, or others without special training or experience:	                             - Ensure that they have  adequate time to prepare, practice, and focus on delivering this intervention.
                            - Providing ongoing professional development  to help them develop relevant skills. 
                          - Integrate Specialists into your organization  or programs. For example, many social work students need to complete practicum hours in a community setting. however, ensure that your program has the supervisory infrastructure necessary to host student clinicians.

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