Daniel Perkins

Daniel Perkins’ work involves teaching, research, and outreach through the Penn State Cooperative Extension Service. His scholarship integrates research and practice in three focus areas: (1) Healthy Family Development (increase resiliency through evidence-based, strength-based educational programming); (2) Implementation Science (involves mix-methods hybrid evaluations of preventions and interventions, implementation outcomes, and community-based delivery models, especially in military-connected contexts); and (3) Community Collaboration (promote strategies for mobilizing communities in support of children, youth, and families.)

One of his primary areas of focus is in fostering the well-being of military service members, veterans, and their families through the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness at Penn State. As Principal Scientist and Founder of the Clearinghouse, he is able to facilitate the translation of science into action by providing comprehensive. science-based programs and technical assistance to professionals working with military and veterans families.

Since 2001, Daniel has also co-led (with Janet Welsh) the implementation of PROmoting School/community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience (PROSPER) in Pennsylvania and other states, which is an evidence-based University-community partnership model for the delivery, dissemination, and sustainability of evidence-based preventive interventions. Moreover, he led a large-scale longitudinal study of post-911 transitioning veterans, The Veteran Metrics Initiative, leading the effort to distill programs for veterans into their common components and examine the link between components and veteran well-being throughout the transition process from military to civilian life.

As a prevention research scientist more than 20 years, he has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and is a recent recipient of the W.K.K. Kellogg Community Engagement Award for the northeast region. He became interested in prevention research because of its alignment with Extension and the mission of the Land Grant University. Daniel particularly likes working with the Prevention Research Center because he gets to collaborate with colleagues who are innovative and willing to take risks.

Daniel is a proud father of twin girls and one boy, and enjoys spending time with his family, watching them in equestrian and soccer events, watching Penn State sports, hiking all over PA, and hunting.

To learn more about Dr. Perkins, click here.

Current Projects

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  Partnership Model for Diffusion of Proven Prevention (PROSPER III)

Examining the highs and lows of the collaborative relationship between technical assistance providers and prevention implementers

Chilenski, S. M., Welsh, J., Olson, J., Hoffman, L., Perkins, D., & Feinberg, M. E. (2018). Examining the highs and lows of the collaborative relationship between technical assistance providers and prevention implementers. Prevention Science, 19, 250-259.

Universal prevention exposure as a moderator of the community context: Findings from the PROSPER project

Chilenski, S., Welsh, J. A., Perkins, D. F., Feinberg, M. E., & Greenberg, M. T. (2016). Universal prevention exposure as a moderator of the community context: Findings from the PROSPER project. American Journal of Community Psychology, 57(12), 819. doi: 00910562

Thriving in school: The role of sixth grade adolescent-parent-school relationships in predicting eighth grade academic outcomes

Welsh, J. A., Chilenski, S., Johnson, L. E., Perkins, D. F., Greenberg, M. T., Berrena, E., & Spoth, R. L. (2016, In Press). Thriving in school: The role of sixth grade adolescent-parent-school relationships in predicting eighth grade academic outcomes. Youth & Society.

The power of a collaborative relationship between technical assistance providers and community prevention teams: A correlational and longitudinal study

Chilenski, S., Perkins, D. F., Olson, J. R., Hoffman, L., Feinberg, M. E., Greenberg, M. T., Welsh, J. A., Crowley, D. M., & Spoth, R. L. (2016). The power of a collaborative relationship between technical assistance providers and community prevention teams: A correlational and longitudinal study. Evaluation and Program Planning, 54(1), 19-29. doi:10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2015.10.002