
Introduction & Projects
"I am passionate about helping disenfranchised communities to adopt best practices with children, families, and youth."
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.
Dr. Welsh is Principal Investigator for the Evidence-based Prevention and Intervention Support (EPIS), a university-based organization connecting research, policy, and real-world practice to improve outcomes for children and families across Pennsylvania. Additionally, she has served as a co-Investigator for the original PROSPER (PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience) project since 2001, studying issues related to the sustainability and dissemination of universal substance abuse prevention programs, while serving as Principal Investigator for several PROSPER spin-off projects in recent years. She has also worked on Head Start REDI, Focus on Learning, Safe Schools, Healthy Students, FAST Track, and numerous projects with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Department of Defense.
Prevention-related Projects
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Coordination and Dissemination of Technical Assistance to Support Rural Communities
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Opioid Misuse Prevention Project
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Building Interconnected Prevention Systems to Address Substance Misuse Using PROSPER
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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)
Recent Publications
Bierman, K. L., Welsh, J. A., Hall, C. M., Jacobson, L. N., Lee, D. L., & Jones, D. E. (2022). Efficacy of the Fast Track friendship group program for peer-rejected children: A randomized-controlled trial. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2022.2051
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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2020.03.009
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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104498
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
The Head Start REDI project and school readiness
Bierman, K., Nix, R. L., Domitrovich, C. Welsh, J. A., & Gest, S. D. (2015). In A. J. Reynolds, A. J. Rolnick, & J. A. Temple. (Eds.), Health education and early childhood. (pp. 208-233). Cambridge University Press.
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.
Related News

July 20, 2022
[VIDEO]: Strategies for promoting youth resilience and mental health
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February 22, 2021
Prevention coalitions benefit from regular technical assistance, new study shows
There is powerful evidence that regularly scheduled contact between technical assistance providers and community prevention coalitions is important to the coalitions’ success, according to a new study led by Sarah Chilenski, Senior Research Associate and Associate Research Professor at the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center (PRC).
Read more.
December 10, 2020
Preschool program linked with better social and emotional skills years later
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A preschool enrichment program developed at Penn State helps boost social and emotional skills that still have positive effects years later during middle and high school, according to a new study.
Read more.
November 30, 2020
Building bridges to improve drug misuse prevention
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Many agencies at the national, state and local levels are working to address the nation’s drug and alcohol misuse crisis. While this provides numerous opportunities for individuals to receive support, efforts across these agencies are often not closely coordinated.
Read more.
August 10, 2020
EPIS leads evidence-based prevention of youth recidivism in PA
A recent validation study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Florida International University suggests that the implementation of the Standardized Program Evaluation Protocol (SPEP™) has positive results for Pennsylvania juvenile justice services, finding that improvement in SPEP™ scores between initial assessment and reassessment is associated with better recidivism outcomes. The study is the first to encompass all four dimensions of service provider program operations covered in a SPEP™ assessment, all of which have been shown to predict reduced youth recidivism:
Read more.
July 13, 2020
Janet Welsh promoted to full Research Professor
The PRC is thrilled to announce that Dr. Janet Welsh has been promoted to Research Professor. This is a tribute to the scientific leadership Janet has provided around the development and implementation of universal prevention programs designed to promote youth development across the state and the country. Dr. Welsh has provided PI leadership on many externally-funded projects, working in close partnership with funders and communities to ensure that evidence-based prevention programs are available to those in need and sustained by communities for lasting change and impact. Her tireless effort and translational work helps to ensure that proven prevention programs work in real-world settings for diverse populations, and she remains steadfastly devoted to impacting public well-being in diverse populations.
Read more.