The New Beginnings Program for Divorcing and Separating Families: Moving From Efficacy to Effectiveness

Abstract

This article describes a program of research on effectively transporting the New Beginnings Program (NBP), a university-tested prevention program for divorced families, to community settings. The status of four steps in this research are described: (1) Selecting a community partner; (2) Developing effective methods of engaging parents; (3) Redesigning the NBP to be easily delivered with high quality and fidelity in community agencies, and (4) Adapting the NBP to meet the needs of the full population of divorcing families. The article concludes with a discussion of plans for an effectiveness trial to evaluate the NBP when delivered in community settings.

Evaluating Parenting Coordination Programs: Encouraging Results From Pilot Testing a Research Methodology

“…& Forgatch, 2007), and mothers and children (''New Beginnings'';Wolchik et al, 2009). The New Beginnings Program has a long history of proven efficacy, and the developers are now beginning effectiveness studies in multiple court settings (Wolchik et al;personal communication with Dr. Irwin Sandler, June 4, 2011).…”

Putting the Pieces Together: An Integrated Model of Program Implementation

“…Fidelity may diminish in importance if the program does not fit the needs of participants in the local context, and adaptations may be even more important when the current population differs from the original audience (Stanton et al 2006). Culture may also dictate quality because interpersonal communication that is clear, supportive, respectful in some contexts may be confusing or disrespectful in others (Gonzales et al 2006; Wolchik et al 2009). The pathways in the proposed theoretical model should therefore be examined across cultural groups.…”

Family Court–university Partnership to Benefit Divorcing Families: The Experience of Maricopa County (Arizona) Family Court Department and Arizona State University's Prevention Research Center*

“…Nonetheless, courts do express strong interest in delivering evidence‐basedprograms. As reported in the companion article we wrote for this volume (Wolchik et al., 2009), Cookston, Braver, Sandler, and Genalo (2002) assessed courts' readiness to adopt evidence‐based programs and found that most counties felt that such a program should be implemented in their county. The companion article also shows the careful process our Center is undergoing as we prepare the New Beginnings Program, perhaps the program with the strongest evidence of benefiting children over many years, for widespread implementation in the family court.…”