The Community Youth Development Study: A Test of Communities That Care

The Communities That Care (CTC) system provides communities training and ongoing technical assistance in a structured process for conducting prevention needs assessments using epidemiological data on levels of risk and protective factors for adolescent problem behaviors, selection of tested and effective preventive interventions shown to address community-prioritized factors, implementation of these interventions with fidelity, and evaluation of the community's progress toward its goals. The CTC system is designed to produce a plan for prevention services that is tailored to the needs of each community. CTC is installed in five phases through a manualized series of training events designed to build the capacity of communities to install and sustain the system over time.