Have "Specialized" Staff Deliver Your Program
Outcome
Externalizing Behavior
Intervention Family
Skill-Building Interventions
EFFECTIVE INTERVENTION COMPONENTS
RESOURCE CONSIDERATIONS
Skill Building Interventions
Have "Specialized" Staff Deliver Your Program
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.