More than $7.9 million for strengthening families and fostering "healthy, positive youth development" across the US has been awarded to research teams at the Universities of Iowa State and Penn State.

Much of the support being pumped into Richard Spoth's Iowa Partnerships in Prevention Science Institute (PPSI) is earmarked for the groundwork for a new national network of programs to be delivered using the PROSPER (Promoting School-Community-University Partnerships to Enhance Resilience) model.

PROSPER has emerged from a collaboration between the two universities and is being rolled out across the country in partnership with the Co-operative Extension Systems and the public schools.

The latest cash injection has come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Prevention Science Institute researchers have been promoting youth and family development in Iowa through public schools, University Extension and other community agencies. Activity on that smaller scale has already been supported by federal and other agencies to the tune of $70 million to help it secure the scientific foundation for a wider network.

"It took the time and resources to show that our programs could work long-term, for a range of positive youth and family outcomes on a larger scale, and we're now getting the federal dollars to implement the PROSPER partnership model in other states," Richard Spoth said at the time of the announcement.

The Iowa activity had demonstrated that young people living in communities where the PROSPER model was being implemented experienced significantly lower rates of substance use and other problem behaviors, years after the interventions were delivered.

"They also had significantly greater skills and improved relationships with their parents," Spoth said. "PROSPER delivers programs that create a protective shield for youth, increasing their skills and their relationships in a way that protects them from exposure to difficult situations that can otherwise lead to problems, like substance use."

Two of the newly funded projects focus on building infrastructure across public education and Cooperative Extension Systems to support implementation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) investment is in a three-year project that will survey representatives from state agencies across the US in order to learn more about their readiness and capacity to implement PROSPER.

Based on their assessment, four states will be selected to receive additional training focused on sustained implementation of evidence-based programs. One will be selected to implement PROSPER, with technical assistance provided by the project team and co-funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

"These agencies are wanting to support expansion of our successful model in Iowa to other states of the country," Spoth said. "They view it as a good investment."

He reports that research has found a $10 return on every $1 invested from just one of their prevention programs. He says the work by PPSI scientists will result in substantial returns on the health and wellness of youth, families and communities across the country, in addition to economic benefits.

For more about PROSPER, see Kids, science, communities – can they prosper together? and When prevention needs a helping hand . See also Communities that Care under US spotlight.