Statewide Interagency Collaboration to Support Evidence-Based Practice Scale Up: The California Autism Professional Training and Information Network (CAPTAIN)

The California Autism Professional Training and Information Network (CAPTAIN) is a statewide interagency collaboration with the goal of scaling up the use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). CAPTAIN began as a clinical initiative then further developed under the influence of implementation science methodology. The Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, and Sustainment framework (EPIS) has impacted targeted strategy use for this statewide scale-up of EBPs by informing the development of key partnerships, implementation goals, and collaborative processes within CAPTAIN. Currently, CAPTAIN has over 407 members representing 140 school and community agencies who provide training and coaching in EBP and meet regularly with regional teams. Outcome data indicate 51.9% of the members provide training and coaching to more than three direct service providers/programs per year. Primary barriers to implementation of EBP were time for training (25.6%), lack of substitute teachers (16.5%), and staff lacking foundational skills (11.5%). Facilitators of implementation and sustainment of the CAPTAIN model include active participation in effective dissemination practices, creative funding and leveraging of local resources, development of the regional collaboratives with an active membership, member commitment to EBP for ASD, and use of implementation science to identify and overcome barriers. The purpose of this paper is to highlight CAPTAIN as a model for statewide scale-up of EBP in schools as well as other community agencies. Although these efforts have focussed on EBP for ASD, the concepts, partnerships, and procedures will likely be transferable to other focal issues and may be generalized across service sectors.