DOI: 10.3886/icpsr38878
title: Cross-Site Analysis and Case Study of STOP Program Grantee Perspectives on Violence Prevention and Mental Health Training Program Implementation, United States, 2021-2023
title: Archival Version

description: The Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Act was enacted in 2018 to improve school safety by providing grants to states, local governments, and Indian tribes in the United States. Under this legislation, the Bureau of Justice Administration (BJA) was allocated $50 million per year to dedicate to grants for mental health and violence prevention training and education for school personnel and students, as well as the development or enhancement of threat assessment systems and crisis response teams. In the first two years, 2018 and 2019, 43 and 85 grantees were awarded funding for STOP programs, respectively. In 2020, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) awarded funding to researchers to study the implementation of the first STOP programs. A cross-disciplinary team of researchers from the University of South Florida Child and Family Studies Department and the College of Education received an NIJ grant to study the STOP programs from the first two years of the grant program.
The research questions guiding this study were:

How have diverse stakeholders (e.g., school administrators, school-based and community mental health professionals, teachers, student and families, law enforcement/SROs, policymakers) been involved in the various stages of implementation?
How have violence prevention and mental health training programs reflected community needs?
What are the perceived barriers and facilitators to implementing violence prevention and mental health training programs across grantee sites?
How do various components of the implementation process contribute to satisfaction with implementation at different stages among stakeholders?
What measures are in place to evaluate and inform continuous implementation processes, and where do opportunities and needs exist for incorporating feedback to strengthen overall implementation?

This mixed-methods study included a cross-site survey and a case study analysis. The cross-site survey was sent to representatives from 128 grantee U.S. agencies who were involved in implementing programs or training from STOP grants (final n=90 respondents). Questions in the survey asked about implementation factors, barriers and facilitators to implementation, the capacity of schools at each site to address mental health, satisfaction of the implementation process, and how COVID-19 has impacted the implementation of STOP programs. There was also an opportunity to share open feedback. This survey was administered in July 2021 and in July 2022. The case study was an in-depth analysis of a smaller sample of grantee agencies. The researchers conducted stakeholder interviews, meeting observations, and document review to gain insights on participant experiences with implementation of STOP programs and what social, political, and cultural factors may have affected implementation.
description: The purposes of this study were to:

Understand the challenges and facilitators of implementing violence prevention and mental health training programs;
Assess contextual factors influencing program implementation, as well as regional and population variances; and
Provide evidence to inform program implementation in violence prevention and mental health programs in schools to improve program outcomes and sustainability
description: The cross-site survey was distributed in July 2021 (Wave 1) and July 2022 (Wave 2) as a Qualtrics link and emailed to all 2018 and 2019 Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) grantees who received funding in the Violence Prevention and Mental Health Training category (219 contacts from 128 sites in each wave). The survey was open to all contacts at each interval to maximize response rate. Respondents who completed the survey received a $10 gift card.
For the case study, a random sample of grantees stratified by grant year, region, and population category was contacted for participation starting in July 2021. Six sites were recruited from across the U.S. Midwest, East, and South regions. Across all sites, data were collected from stakeholder interviews, meeting observations, and project-related document review. Interviews and meeting observations were conducted virtually via Microsoft Teams. Interviews were recorded for transcription, and open notes were taken during meetings. Qualitative data were analyzed with a combination of inductive and deductive thematic analysis techniques, using ATLAS.ti software.
description: Cross-site survey variables asked about the following:

Respondent's role and number of years served
Individuals serving on the program implementation team
The degree of engagement at different stages of implementation (i.e., exploration, installation, initial, and full implementation)
Severity of mental health issues (e.g., disruptive behavior, depression, stress, trauma) within schools at the site
Presence of systems, protocols, policies, and structures in schools to address mental health
Facilitators and/or barriers to implementation
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on implementation
Satisfaction with overall implementation efforts and technical assistance received

Stakeholder interviews covered reasons for pursuing the grant, background information about the project, strategic planning process, progress and effectiveness of the implementation, decision-making processes, degree of support for the program, and barriers and challenges to implementation.
description: Response Rates: Wave 1 (2021) had 52 completed responses (40%), and wave 2 (2022) had 38 completed responses (34%). Sixteen respondents completed the survey during both waves.
description: Presence of Common Scales: 
National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) Stages of Implementation (Bertram et al., 2015)
School Mental Health Capacity Instrument (SMHCI) (Feigenberg et al., 2010)
NIRN Hexagon Tool (Metz and Louison, 2019)
NIRN Implementation Drivers (Aarons et al., 2011; Fixsen et al., 2009)
NIRN Improvement Cycles (NIRN, n.d.)
Western and Pacific Child Welfare Center Implementation Center's (WPIC) Framework for Implementing Systems Change in Child Welfare (WPIC, 2009)
description: Datasets: 
DS0: Study-Level Files
DS1: Cross-Site Survey Data
DS2: Case Study Interview Data
description: Representatives from agencies granted Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) funding between 2018-2019. Smallest Geographic Unit: Region (U.S.)
description: web-based surveyPlease visit the study website for more information and findings.Qualitative data are not currently available. Please refer to the ICPSR README for the case study interview data file list. Full versions of all data collection instruments and the qualitative codebook are also available as appendices in the final report submitted to NIJ under Related Publications.