Infectious Disease — Special Topics — Home

Will Cross-Training Work for You?

The Cross-Training curriculum has been designed to operate most effectively in a service climate in which Qualified Service Organization Agreements (QSOAs) or Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) are in place, or can be put in place to facilitate movement of clients among systems. States successfully piloting the curriculum began the process of establishing QSOAs and/or MOUs in tandem with implementation of the training to encourage workers to utilize the skills developed during the training. Consequently, in preparation for requesting Cross-Training technical assistance in your State, collaboration planning sessions that include key public health (HIV/AIDS, STD, and TB), substance abuse, mental health, and criminal justice leaders and planners should be held to discuss the goals and objectives of the training and its implications for subsequent coordination in the State.

A State's capacity to provide a seamless continuum of care can be greatly enhanced through the provision of ongoing support to State and local public health, substance abuse, mental health, and criminal justice systems and staff. Consequently, an important goal of the training is the development of a framework to guide the system-building effort to ensure local adaptation and replication of the Cross-Training model. Ideally, through a training-of-trainers approach, this local adaptation and replication is ensured through the creation of an interdisciplinary training team. Pre-planning discussions should explore potential mechanisms for funding ongoing training initiatives upon completion of the Federal intervention. The Cross-Training staff will work with you to promote this effort.

Planning should also address the availability of the appropriate training audience. This curriculum is designed to serve a mixed population of public and behavioral health professionals from a variety of service delivery settings. Therefore, the training is most effective when the training audience is evenly distributed, representing public health (including HIV/AIDS prevention and care, STD, TB and viral hepatitis), substance abuse treatment and prevention, mental health, and criminal justice systems.

Finally, administrators also should consider how to utilize the Cross-Training Initiative's comprehensive evaluation that examines the planning process as well as intermediate and long- term outcomes. Local planning committees may wish to utilize this information to evaluate the effectiveness of the TA and training delivery as well as the extent of service integration and collaboration efforts within their area. Evaluation tools include the following:

• A pre-test and post-test that are given to participants to measure knowledge and attitude change;
• A workshop evaluation to measure participant satisfaction with the workshop structure and content, trainers, logistics, and overall effectiveness;
• Satisfaction surveys for trainers and local event planners to examine satisfaction with the planning process and training event;
• A participant follow-up evaluation given three months after the completion of the Cross-Training to measure retention of information and perception of collaboration and systems integration efforts since the event; and
• A local planning committee member follow-up evaluation to gauge the committee's satisfaction with the planning process, training event, and perception of collaboration and systems integration efforts since the event.

Special Topics Archive