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Growing Pains: Lessons from WAIT Training in Florida (Executive Summary)
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Growing Pains: Lessons from WAIT Training in Florida (Executive Summary)

Published: Sep 04, 2014
Publisher: Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research
Human Services Family Support Youth Development Research & Evaluation Evaluation Design

Associated Project

Evaluation of Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Approaches

Time frame: 2008-2016

Prepared for:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Adolescent Health

Authors

Betsy Keating

Rachel Shapiro

Key Findings

  • Extending program activity to new sites brings role changes and adjustments.
  • Broadening program delivery requires devoting time to building relationships.
  • Schools might view outside programming as a low priority and a distraction.
  • Funders and program operators should anticipate the need for repeated teacher trainings to ensure successful program implementation. 

Using the case of Live the Life Ministries (LtL), this report examines common challenges related to extending teen pregnancy prevention programming to new locations. LtL is a faith-based organization that provides social services to youth and families in the Florida Panhandle. In 2010, LtL received a grant from the Office of Adolescent Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to implement and test an adapted version of the WAIT (Why Am I Tempted) Training abstinence education program in Florida middle and high schools. Through a partnership with an ongoing federal evaluation, the grant also provided resources to evaluate the program’s implementation and impacts. Because of factors ranging from staffing constraints to organizational inexperience, LtL’s project did not go as planned. This report examines these issues in the context of the WAIT Training program to highlight implications for funders and organizations looking to deliver similar programs in other contexts.  

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