Janet Welsh

Janet Welsh has been working in prevention research since 1994. She chose this career path because she wanted to see scientific ideas developed in academia put to good use in the real world.

Her research interests include the translation of evidence-based interventions (EBI) into community settings, understanding the factors that contribute to the success or failure of an EBI when introduced into new contexts, and adaptations of EBI’s within special populations, including the U.S. military and Native Americans. She is particularly passionate about helping disenfranchised communities to adopt best practices with children, families, and youth.

Janet has been an investigator on the PROSPER study for the past 15 years, studying issues related to the sustainability and dissemination of universal substance abuse prevention programs. She has worked on Head Start REDI, Focus on Learning, Safe Schools, Healthy Students, and FAST Track, and numerous projects with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Department of Defense.

Some of Janet’s recent research awards include the REDI-BKC project with colleagues Karen Bierman and Claudia Mincemoyer, the PROSPER dissemination project recently funded by Department of Agriculture, and the Tribal REDI project in partnership with South Dakota State University and the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribal College in Sisseton, South Dakota.

When Janet is not immersed in a current research project or teaching undergraduate and graduate courses here at Penn State, you might find her swimming, playing baseball with her son and his friends, or responding to a fire emergency with the Alpha Fire Company in State College.

Current Projects

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  Building Interconnected Prevention Systems to Address Substance Misuse

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  Growing Evidence-Based Prevention in Pennsylvania to Address Opioid Misuse

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  Support to Adapt and Test the Feasibility of Implementing the Evidence-based Head Start REDI with Preschool Native American Children and Their Families

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  Health Promotion in Rural Pennsylvania: The PROSPER Program

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  Resource Center for the Standardized Program Evaluation Protocol (SPEP™)

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  Evidence-based Prevention and Intervention Support (EPIS)

Sustained effects of a school readiness intervention: Fifth grade outcomes of the Head Start REDI program

Welsh, J.A., Bierman, K.L., Nix, R.L., Heinrichs, B., & Gest, S.D. (2020). Sustained effects of a school readiness intervention: Fifth grade outcomes of the Head Start REDI program. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 53, 151-160.

Important issues in estimating costs of early childhood educational interventions: An example from the REDI program

Jones, D.E., Bierman, K., Crowley, D.M., Welsh, J., & Gest, J. (2019). Important issues in estimating costs of early childhood educational interventions: An example from the REDI program. Child and Family Services Review, 207, 104498.

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.

Effect of preschool home visiting on school readiness and need for services in elementary school: A randomized clinical trial

Bierman, K.L., Welsh, J.A., Heinrichs, B.S., & Nix, R.L. (2018). Effect of preschool home visiting on school readiness and need for services in elementary school: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Pediatrics, 172(8), e181029.

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

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.

Pathways to sustainability: 8-year follow-up from the PROSPER project

Welsh, J. A., Chilenski, S., Johnson, L., Greenberg, M. T., & Spoth, R. L. (2016). Pathways to sustainability: 8-year follow-up from the PROSPER project. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 37(3), 263-286. doi: 0278095X

Promoting resilience: A preschool intervention enhances the adolescent adjustment of children exposed to early adversity

Sanders, M., Welsh, J.A., Bierman, K.L., & Heinrichs, B. (in press). Promoting resilience: A preschool intervention enhances the adolescent adjustment of children exposed to early adversity. School Psychology.