For the EBPP process, you do not have to make major changes or implement costly treatments.  The hope is that this process will help to guide you through making decisions about your community that are based on data and evidence-supported best practices.

For example:

• The research indicates that low-risk youth may develop worse behaviors if detained, especially with higher-risk youth. Therefore, a decision not to incarcerate lower-risk youth is an evidence-based practice.
• The evidence indicates that certain programs like Scared Straight and DARE are not effective and should no longer be used. Therefore, you might make the decision to end a practice in your community that does not have any demonstrated benefit and is not cost-effective would be an evidence-based practice.
• There are a number of validated screening tools that can help to make appropriate placement and treatment decisions.  Implementing a screening process or specific screening tool is an evidence-based practice.
• There are a number of treatments that are also evidence-based but do not cost anything. For example, Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is one of the best-studied and effective forms of psychotherapy.  There is no cost associated with doing CBT beyond the training of the therapist.