Implementation and Sustainability of Early Childhood Positive Behavior Support in Kansas: A Statewide Survey

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the current status of implementation and sustainability of positive behavior support (PBS) practices within community child care and Head Start/Early Head Start programs in the state of Kansas. A survey study was conducted and collected data from 103 participating programs. The results suggest that PBS professional development (PD) and current PBS application both have not achieved scale-up. Two assessment tools are embedded in the survey. Stages of Implementation Analysis - Early Childhood Positive Behavior Support (SIA-ECPBS; 16 items, α= .920) is developed using an implementation science framework and aims to evaluate the level of PBS implementation. The mean of SIA- ECPBS scores of 30 responding programs (M = 15.43, SD = 8.29, Median = 15.5) indicates a low level of PBS implementation. Early Childhood Universal Behavior Sustainability Index (ECUBS; 30 items, α= .940) is developed to evaluate level of PBS sustainability. The mean of ECUBS scores of 17 responding programs (M = 44.46, SD = 12.23, Median = 31) indicates a high level of sustainability. One-way ANOVA was used to examine the associations between program variables and level of PBS implementation and sustainability. The results indicate that whether programs have received training on all PBS components, or some PBS components significantly impacts the level of PBS implementation. This survey study is the first attempt to investigate PBS implementation and sustainability via the lens of implementation science at the state level for Kansas child care and Head Start/Early Head Start programs. Implications for practitioners, policy makers, and researchers are discussed.