Methods: The ERIN Talk development team underwent a rigorous, 2-year process for creating and revising the program manual. For program development, the team drew upon the best available research on protective and risk factors for TDV/SV; empirically-based theories on TDV/SV prevention and behavior change; literature on restorative practices; dialogue with school personnel; informal student feedback; classroom observations of program delivery; and preliminary data from an ongoing qualitative study on the global use of restorative practices to address SV. The program team has gleaned numerous lessons from this process that can inform the development of trauma-informed, culturally responsive TDV/SV prevention programs for diverse youth.
Results: ERIN Talk has evolved into an 8-session, manualized program. Critical assets to program development and implementation included drawing on the best available research and theory and developing a detailed logic model to set up the program for future evaluation; having an interdisciplinary development team; and partnering with school personnel and school system-level program champions, including administrators, social workers, and classroom teachers/coaches who know the students and participate in program delivery. Challenges that arose included navigating school-based Institutional Review Board processes to ensure pilot data collection could occur; movement to online learning during the pandemic; and securing ongoing funding to support this innovative effort. Preliminary feedback and observations suggest student and school personnel satisfaction with the program.
Conclusions: TDV/SV prevention programs designed specifically for Black youth and additional communities exposed to elevated rates of community violence and poverty are needed. ERIN Talk development as well as preliminary implementation and evaluation efforts point to potential benefits of taking an interdisciplinary approach to prevention with attention to trauma, racial equity, and restorative practices frameworks.