Preparing for Dissemination and Scale up of a Sexual Health Intervention for Justice-Involved Youth

Justice-involved youth report increased mental health concerns, substance misuse, and risky sexual behavior compared to non-justice-involved youth. Supporting Youth Navigating Choices (SYNC) is a manualized evidence-based practice for justice-involved youth that has demonstrated success in reducing sexual risk behaviors, aggression, and recidivism. Dissemination and scale-up are necessary for SYNC to reach more justice-involved youth. This study examined barriers and facilitators of implementing SYNC using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to strengthen SYNC's future implementation. Participants (n = 18) were individuals who work with justice-involved youth and received training to deliver SYNC. Structured interviews were deductively coded using Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research domains and subdomains, and data were examined to identify patterns. As facilitators, participants expressed that SYNC provides necessary skills to youth, and they highlighted the strong training, curriculum, and manual. As barriers, participants noted program length, instructor discomfort, lack of leadership support, and staffing concerns. Applying recommendations may facilitate improved dissemination, implementation, and scalability.