Drs. Janis Kupersmidt and Rebecca Stelter will be attending the second annual National Mentoring Summit in Washington, D.C. on January 24^th and 25^th. The theme of the summit is “Invest in the Future: Mentor a Child.” At the summit, Drs. Kupersmidt and Stelter will be conducting a workshop on iRT’s mentor training program, Mentoring Central. Dr. Kupersmidt will be participating in two additional workshops: one on mentoring youth with disabilities and learning differences, and another on Mentor in a Box, a kit created in collaboration with MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership and Viacom, developed to assist corporations in developing a mentoring program.   

Dr. Tracy Scull, Dr. Janis Kupersmidt, and Dr. Rebecca Stelter will attend the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention’s (CSAP) Service to Science Academy in Atlanta, GA on January 5 and 6.  The academy will cover topics related to program evaluation and include individualized technical assistance from the CAPT’s diverse cadre of evaluation experts. These sessions will be used to develop action plans designed to enhance methodologies for evaluating the effectiveness of the Media Detective Parent Night program for improving parent and child outcomes.  

Media Detective Parent Night was nominated and accepted to be a part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention’s (CSAP) Service to Science initiative.  This national initiative aims to enhance the evaluation capacity of innovative programs and practices that address critical substance abuse prevention and related behavioral health needs in states, tribes, jurisdictions, and communities. The Service to Science initiative provides direct assistance to program developers, implementers, and evaluators to help them better assess their programs’ effectiveness. Ultimately, Service to Science seeks to support state prevention efforts by ensuring that more local programs addressing critical substance abuse and mental health needs meet evidence-based standards.