Janet Welsh has been working in prevention research since 1994. She chose this career path because she wanted to see scientific ideas developed in academia put to good use in the real world.
Her research interests include the translation of evidence-based interventions (EBI) into community settings, understanding the factors that contribute to the success or failure of an EBI when introduced into new contexts, and adaptations of EBI’s within special populations, including the U.S. military and Native Americans.
Dr. Welsh is Principal Investigator for the Evidence-based Prevention and Intervention Support (EPIS), a university-based organization connecting research, policy, and real-world practice to improve outcomes for children and families across Pennsylvania. Additionally, she has served as a co-Investigator for the original PROSPER (PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience) project since 2001, studying issues related to the sustainability and dissemination of universal substance abuse prevention programs, while serving as Principal Investigator for several PROSPER spin-off projects in recent years. She has also worked on Head Start REDI, Focus on Learning, Safe Schools, Healthy Students, FAST Track, and numerous projects with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Department of Defense.
I am passionate about helping disenfranchised communities to adopt best practices with children, families, and youth.
- Janet Welsh
Focus Area(s)
Implementing and Evaluating Evidence-Based Programs
Developmental Period(s)
Early Childhood, Adolescence
Level(s) of Analysis
Individuals, Families, Communities
Contact Information
320F Biobehavioral Health Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-865-3691
jaw900@psu.edu
Janet Welsh has been working in prevention research since 1994. She chose this career path because she wanted to see scientific ideas developed in academia put to good use in the real world.
Her research interests include the translation of evidence-based interventions (EBI) into community settings, understanding the factors that contribute to the success or failure of an EBI when introduced into new contexts, and adaptations of EBI’s within special populations, including the U.S. military and Native Americans.
Dr. Welsh is Principal Investigator for the Evidence-based Prevention and Intervention Support (EPIS), a university-based organization connecting research, policy, and real-world practice to improve outcomes for children and families across Pennsylvania. Additionally, she has served as a co-Investigator for the original PROSPER (PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience) project since 2001, studying issues related to the sustainability and dissemination of universal substance abuse prevention programs, while serving as Principal Investigator for several PROSPER spin-off projects in recent years. She has also worked on Head Start REDI, Focus on Learning, Safe Schools, Healthy Students, FAST Track, and numerous projects with the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Department of Defense.
I am passionate about helping disenfranchised communities to adopt best practices with children, families, and youth.
- Janet Welsh
Contact Information
320F Biobehavioral Health Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-865-3691
jaw900@psu.edu
Focus Area(s)
Implementing and Evaluating Evidence-Based Programs
Developmental Period(s) Studied
Early Childhood, Adolescence
Levels of Analysis
Individuals, Families, Communities
PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience (PROSPER) 
Evidence-based Prevention and Intervention Support (EPIS) 
Resilient, Engaged & Active Community Health (REACH) 
Expanding PROSPER to Address Increasing Mental Health Needs 
Coordination and Dissemination of Technical Assistance to Support Rural Communities 
Opioid Misuse Prevention Project 
Building Interconnected Prevention Systems to Address Substance Misuse Using PROSPER 
Randomized Trial of a Data-driven Technical Assistance System for Drug Prevention Coalitions (Coalition CheckUp) 
Growing Evidence-Based Prevention in Pennsylvania to Address Opioid Misuse 
Support to Adapt and Test the Feasibility of Implementing the Evidence-based Head Start REDI with Preschool Native American Children and their Families 
Health Promotion in Rural Pennsylvania: The PROSPER Program 
Partnership Model for Diffusion of Proven Prevention (PROSPER III) 
Resource Center for the Standardized Program Evaluation Protocol (SPEP™)
Janet Welsh honored with 2023 SPR Translational Science Award 
Podcast tackles research and government partnership on youth, family prevention 
Penn State leads multi-state project to prevent opioid misuse 
[VIDEO]: Strategies for promoting youth resilience and mental health 
Prevention coalitions benefit from regular technical assistance, new study shows 
Preschool program linked with better social and emotional skills years later 
Building bridges to improve drug misuse prevention 
EPIS leads evidence-based prevention of youth recidivism in PA 
Janet Welsh promoted to full Research Professor
- Efficacy of the Fast Track friendship group program for peer-rejected children: A randomized-controlled trial
Bierman, K. L., Welsh, J. A., Hall, C. M., Jacobson, L. N., Lee, D. L., & Jones, D. E. (2022). Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology. Advance online publication.
- Sustained effects of a school readiness intervention: Fifth grade outcomes of the Head Start REDI program
Welsh, J. A., Bierman, K. L., Nix, R. L., Heinrichs, B., & Gest, S. D. (2020). Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 53, 151-160.
- Important issues in estimating costs of early childhood educational interventions: An example from the REDI program
Jones, D. E., Bierman, K., Crowley, D. M., Welsh, J., & Gest, J. (2019). Child and Family Services Review, 207, 104498.
- Examining the highs and lows of the collaborative relationship between technical assistance providers and prevention implementers
Chilenski, S. M., Welsh, J., Olson, J., Hoffman, L., Perkins, D., & Feinberg, M. E. (2018). Prevention Science, 19, 250-259.
- Effect of preschool home visiting on school readiness and need for services in elementary school: A randomized clinical trial
Bierman, K.L., Welsh, J.A., Heinrichs, B.S., & Nix, R.L. (2018). JAMA Pediatrics, 172(8), e181029.
- Enriching preschool classrooms and home visits with evidence_based programming: sustained benefits for low_income children
Bierman, K., Heinrichs, B., Welsh, J., Nix, R., & Gest, S. D. (2016, In Press). Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
- The power of a collaborative relationship between technical assistance providers and community prevention teams: A correlational and longitudinal study
Chilenski, S., Perkins, D. F., Olson, J. R., Hoffman, L., Feinberg, M. E., Greenberg, M. T., Welsh, J. A., Crowley, D. M., & Spoth, R. L. (2016). Evaluation and Program Planning, 54(1), 19-29.
- Universal prevention exposure as a moderator of the community context: Findings from the PROSPER project
Chilenski, S., Welsh, J. A., Perkins, D. F., Feinberg, M. E., & Greenberg, M. T. (2016). American Journal of Community Psychology, 57(12), 819. doi: 00910562
- Thriving in school: The role of sixth grade adolescent-parent-school relationships in predicting eighth grade academic outcomes
Welsh, J. A., Chilenski, S., Johnson, L. E., Perkins, D. F., Greenberg, M. T., Berrena, E., & Spoth, R. L. (2016, In Press). Youth & Society.
- Pathways to sustainability: 8-year follow-up from the PROSPER project
Welsh, J. A., Chilenski, S., Johnson, L., Greenberg, M. T., & Spoth, R. L. (2016). The Journal of Primary Prevention, 37(3), 263-286. doi: 0278095X
- The randomized controlled trial of Head Start REDI: Sustained effects on developmental trajectories of social-emotional functioning
Nix, R., Bierman, K. L., Heinrichs, B. S., Gest, S. D., Welsh, J. A., & Domitrovich, C. E. (2016). Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 84(4), 310-322. doi 0022006X
- The Head Start REDI project and school readiness
Bierman, K., Nix, R. L., Domitrovich, C. Welsh, J. A., & Gest, S. D. (2015). In A. J. Reynolds, A. J. Rolnick, & J. A. Temple. (Eds.), Health education and early childhood. (pp. 208-233). Cambridge University Press.
- Promoting resilience: A preschool intervention enhances the adolescent adjustment of children exposed to early adversity
Sanders, M., Welsh, J.A., Bierman, K.L., & Heinrichs, B. (in press). School Psychology.
