Crossroads

Developers
Tori Sisk, M.Ed., L.P.C. – Coordinator, Student Development & Support Services; Arlington Independent School District

Anna Lee, B.A. – Program Liaison, Student Development & Support Services; Arlington Independent School District
Program Summary
Crossroads is an intervention aimed at reducing risky sexual behavior among older adolescents. The three-day program is an adaptation of the Be Proud! Be Responsible! Program and was adapted to include developing interpersonal skills, building connections with community resources, and educational/vocational goal setting among older adolescents.
Intended Population
The program was designed for and tested with high school youth 17-19 years old who were identified as at-risk for dropping out of school (youth had to be participating in Drop Out Prevention services). 
Program Setting

The program is designed for and was evaluated in various community-based settings, including health clinics, after school, or in the home.

Contact and Availability Information
See above.
Sample of curriculum available for review prior to purchase
Yes
Adaptation guidelines or kit available
No
Languages available
English
Program Core Components
Program Objectives
The program seeks to prevent and/or reduce sexual risk behavior by providing an open space for youth to discuss sensitive sexual health topics.
Program Content
Crossroads is a three-day program, focusing on building personal skills, preventing pregnancy and STIs, and identifying available community resources. Each day has a specific theme, and includes activities at different locations.
  • Day 1 “Who am I?” takes place in an outdoor experiential learning adventure camp. Activities include participating in a challenge course, and identifying attitudes and personal beliefs about relationships.
  • Day 2 “Where am I Going?” takes place at a community college and includes a college tour. Youth also begin the modified Be Proud! Be Responsible! curriculum.
  • Day 3 “Where Do I get Help?” includes a visit to a local community organization where youth participate in a community service project and learn about available resources. Day 3 also includes meetings with healthcare workers, and the conclusion of the Be Proud! Be Responsible! curriculum.
Program Methods
Crossroads was designed for the teaching portion of the curriculum to be delivered in a large group setting by a main facilitator. Other activities, including skill-building and guided in-depth discussions are conducted by a facilitator in small groups of 10 or fewer youth.
Program Structure and Timeline
The program was designed to deliver 16 activities over the course of 7 hours each day for a total of 21 hours over three days. When the program was evaluated, some cohorts received a shorter modified version for a total of 18.75 hours across three days. Some activities were modified, but the total number of activities (16) did not change.
Staffing
Facilitators are required to have a minimum of three years of experience in teaching, counseling, or social work.
Additional Needs for Implementation
The curriculum manual outlines the modules, activities, and objectives of the program. Each activity includes procedures, and lists the time and materials required for implementation. The Appendix of the curriculum manual includes all necessary handouts and Powerpoint presentations.

Required supplemental materials include notecards, bandanas or small rope, a cargo net, a platform with a fulcrum in the center that allows the platform to balance or lean on each side, tarp with a grid, maze map, two sets of cards, harnesses, a ropes course, a zip line course, and a community resource packet.
Fidelity
Detailed fidelity logs were created by the evaluation team to monitor that all programming was delivered in the same manner at each intervention. Fidelity logs are available, however are not available to be published at this time. Fidelity logs will be available for the public at the time requests are made to obtain the curriculum. 
Staff Training
Facilitators are trained on how to implement the curriculum by the developers. Staff also receive additional staff development trainings for practitioners working with at-risk youth.
Technical Assistance and Ongoing Support
If curriculum is requested and released by AISD, technical assistance will be included with the full Curriculum and Facilitators Guide.
Allowable Adaptations
Crossroads may be directly translated in other languages.
Reviewed Studies
Citation High-Quality Randomized Trial Moderate-Quality Randomized Trial Moderate-Quality Quasi-experiment Low Study Rating Did Not Meet Eligibility Criteria
✓
✓

Slater and Mitschke 2015

 		✓
Study Characteristics
Citation Setting Majority Age Group Majority Racial/Ethnic Group Gender Sample Size
n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Slater and Mitschke 2015

 		After school 18 or 19 Hispanic or Latinx of any race Youth of any gender 1174
Study Findings

Evidence by Outcome Domain and Study

Citation Sexual Activity Number of Sexual Partners Contraceptive Use STIs or HIV Pregnancy
n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

Slater and Mitschke 2015

 		n.a. n.a. Potentially favorable evidence n.a. n.a.
Detailed Findings
Citation Details

Slater and Mitschke 2015

 		The program was evaluated in a randomized controlled trial involving 1,174 adolescents classified as high risk for dropping out of high school. The adolescents were recruited to participate in the study from one alternative and six traditional high schools in the Arlington Independent School District in Texas. The intervention was implemented outside the regular school day (in the afternoon and during the weekend) in a community-based setting for three consecutive days. Study surveys were administered and three, six, and twelve months after the intervention ended.

Six months after the intervention, adolescents participating in the intervention were significantly less likely than those in the study control group to report having had vaginal intercourse without using a condom in the past three months (odds ratio = 0.38, confidence interval = 0.59 to 0.79). The study found no statistically significant program impacts on having anal or oral sexual intercourse without a condom at the six-month follow-up. For the follow-up conducted 3 months after the program ended, the study found no evidence of statistically significant program impacts on having vaginal, anal, and oral sexual intercourse without a condom.

The study also examined program impacts on having sexual activity without using a condom and on ever being pregnant 12 months after the program ended. However, the findings for the 12-month follow-up did not meet the review standards because they were based on a sample with high attrition.

Notes

Some study entries may include more than one citation because each citation examines a different follow-up period from the same study sample, or because each citation examines a different set of outcome measures on the same study sample. A blank cell indicates the study did not examine any outcome measures within the particular outcome domain or the findings for the outcome measures within that domain did not meet the review evidence standards.

Information on evidence of effectiveness is available only for studies that received a high or moderate rating. Read the description of the review process for more information on how these programs are identified.