Predicting Readiness to Adopt Evidence-Based Programs for Divorcing Families: Champions, Attitudes, and Access to Funding Jeffrey T. Cookston San Francisco State University Irwin N. Sandler, Sanford L. Braver, and M. Toni Genalo Arizona State University This paper attempts to identify the factors that explain service provider readiness to fund and implement evidence-based programs for children from divorcing families. Representatives from 128 family courts in United States counties were surveyed about the programs currently being offered for families of divorce and plans for changes in the services provided. Path analyses provided evidence that readiness to adopt effective programming was predicted by (a) the presence of champions who could potentially advocate for adoption, (b) county size, and (c) community attitudes favorable to services for families of divorce. The counties’ ability to access funding to support programming did not predict ultimate readiness to adopt extended programming. Implications for research on the dissemination of prevention programs for children of divorce are discussed. Keywords: organizational readiness, divorcing parent education, program implementation, dissemination, family court Children who experience parental divorce are at approximately two times higher risk for negative mental health outcomes as compared to children from homes in which the child’s parents do not divorce (Howard, Cornille, Lyons, Vessey, Lueger, & Saunders, 1996; Kelly & Emery, 2003; Zill, Morrison, & Coiro, 1993). The deleterious effects of divorce on children are especially worrisome when one considers that approximately one million children experience parental divorce each year (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1992). Over the past two decades, prevention researchers have made steady progress in developing programs to reduce the negative effects of divorce on children and in demonstrating the efficacy of these programs to improve children’s well-being. Programs can have positive effects on children by working with multiple target populations including custodial mothers (Forgatch & DeGarmo, 1999; Wolchik, Sandler, Winslow, & Smith-Daniels, 2005), chil- dren (Pedro-Carroll & Jones, 2005), and noncustodial fathers (Braver, Griffin, Cookston, Sandler, & Williams, 2005; Cookston, Braver, Griffin, deLuse ´, & Miles, 2007). However, few of the programs that have demonstrated positive gains for participants are being offered on a regular basis to families who have experienced divorce. The next logical step for prevention research with families experiencing parental divorce is the dissemination of evidence- based prevention programs for implementation in community set- tings. In this paper, we argue for a specific service delivery context for intervention programs for divorcing families, review a concep- tual model of factors that may influence the adoption of innovative programs in community settings, and provide a test of these factors as predictors of readiness to adopt prevention programs for chil- dren of divorce in the family courts. Community Contexts for Delivery of Prevention Programs for Children From Divorced Homes Services for divorcing families have been provided in a variety of contexts including schools (Pedro-Carroll, 1997; Pedro-Carroll, Sutton, & Wyman, 1999; Stolberg & Mahler, 1994), universities (Forgatch & DeGarmo, 1999; Wolchik et al., 1993, 2000), com- munity service agencies (Shifflett & Cummings, 1999), and family courts (Kramer & Washo, 1993). Each of these service delivery contexts has its relative strengths and weaknesses. School-based programs may provide immediate access to children; however, access to parents may be limited. Furthermore, children’s partici- pation in school-based programs may place them at increased risk for stigmatization among peers should their parents’ marital status become known. Community service agencies may offer programs for families who are seeking help, but only a small proportion of the divorced population may take the initiative to utilize their services. Family courts have the potential to reach the full popu- lation of divorcing families, but courts may not use their access to deliver programs that have demonstrated effectiveness in rigorous evaluations, and typically offer programs that are shorter than Jeffrey T. Cookston, Associate Professor, San Francisco State Univer- sity, San Francisco, California; Irwin N. Sandler and Sanford L. Braver, Professors, Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona; M. Toni Genalo, Director of Data Collection, Program for Pre- vention Research, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. Data collection was supported by NIMH Grant P30 MH39346 as part of the center grant for the Program for Prevention Research at Arizona State University awarded to the second and third authors. Analysis was sup- ported by NIMH Grant 5 T32 MH18387. The authors would also like to acknowledge the assistance of Misty Burgess, whose persistent efforts enabled us to identify the sample and collected data. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jeffrey Cookston, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132. E-mail: cookston@sfsu.edu American Journal of Orthopsychiatry Copyright 2007 by the American Psychological Association 2007, Vol. 77, No. 4, 573–581 0002-9432/07/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/0002-9432.77.4.573 573