Abstract:Research has made progress in identifying “what works” in crime prevention. As communities and organizations have attempted to make use of evidence-based interventions, it has become clear that knowing WHAT to do is insufficient. A new science of implementation has emerged that focuses on HOW prevention is supported so that prevention practices can be used as intended to produce desired effects. Using time worn approaches to implementation with new reforms will lead to predictable results (5% to 15% uptake, for a while). Implementation science offers a new view of “the problem” and of “the solution” in crime prevention.
Vita:Dean L. Fixsen, Ph.D. began his career in human services in 1963 as a Psychiatric Aide in a large state hospital for children with profound developmental delays. Dean received his doctorate in Experimental Psychology from the University of Kansas in 1970. Starting in the 1960s, Dean was Co-Director of the research group that produced the Teaching-Family Model, an early version of an evidence-based program and one of the few that has national certification standards for practitioners and for organizations using the Model. Dean is co-author of the highly regarded monograph, Implementation research: A synthesis of the literature. He has served on numerous editorial boards and has advised federal, state, and local governments. Dean is a Senior Scientist at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Co-Director of the National Implementation Research Network; Co-Director of the State Implementation and Scaling up of Evidence-based Practices Center; Co-Founder of the Global Implementation Initiative; and a member of the founding Board of Editors of the journal Implementation Science. Dean has spent his career developing and implementing evidence-based programs, initiating and managing change processes in provider organizations and service delivery systems, and working with others to improve the lives of children, families, and adults.
