"Scientists, even the best in the world, are not the best promoters of products," says Ed Smith, acting director of Penn State's Prevention Research Center. That's where the Evidence-based Prevention and Intervention Support (EPIS) Center, directed by Brian Bumbarger, comes in. After researchers have tested a program and know that it works, they hand it off to the EPIS Center for promotion throughout the state. If a school is interested in running an anti-bullying program or a program on preventing drug abuse, for example, the EPIS Center will recommend options. "This goes back to our focus on evidence-based programs," Smith says. "We can say, Here are three or four really effective programs, and we have scientific evidence showing that they work."
EPIS Center staff provide schools and other organizations with the materials they need as well as trainers who go on site to teach effective delivery. Evidence-based programs featured through the EPIS Center include Big Brothers Big Sisters, Strengthening Families, and a bullying prevention program.
For more information on the EPIS Center, and a complete list of programs available, visit http://www.episcenter.psu.edu/