Behind the Curriculum: Exploring the Prevention Core Competencies
If you’ve been in prevention for a while, you already know the feeling: you’re doing meaningful work… but too often you’re doing it without the kind of foundational training and support that other fields take for granted.
And if you’re newer to the field (or you’re a coalition member, community partner, or “accidental preventionist”), you’ve probably wondered: “Am I missing something? Like… what’s the real playbook here?”
That’s exactly what this special episode of the Prevention Leaders Podcast tackles.
In this conversation, I’m joined by two powerhouse prevention leaders and national trainers, Nicole Augustine and Rikki Barton, to go behind the scenes of a curriculum that’s quickly becoming a big deal in our field: the Prevention Core Competencies (PCC).
But this isn’t just a “here’s a new training” episode.
It’s a conversation about workforce development, professionalizing prevention, building community readiness, and how we equip the next generation of prevention leaders to do prevention justice—well, consistently, and at scale.
If prevention has ever felt like a field where people are expected to “figure it out as they go” (because, honestly, many of us were), you’re going to want to listen to the full episode.
The core problem: Prevention has been under-trained for too long
Nicole and Rikki name something a lot of us have felt, but don’t always say out loud:
In a field this important… it’s wild how few standardized, foundational trainings have been available.
Historically, many prevention professionals have leaned on:
the SAPST (Strategic Prevention Framework Application for Prevention Success) training
Ethics in Prevention training
Both are essential. And yet—even with those—there’s been a missing “step before the how.”
That’s where Prevention Core Competencies comes in.
As Rikki describes it in the episode: SAPST teaches you how to do prevention. PCC helps you understand why we’re here in the first place.
And that difference matters—because when people deeply understand the “why,” they make better decisions about strategy, messaging, and what actually works.
So what is the Prevention Core Competencies curriculum?
PCC is designed to be a foundational training that supports prevention professionals and the broader community alike.
That’s one of the most important takeaways from this episode: This curriculum isn’t just for “prevention staff.”
It’s for:
coalition members
community partners
business leaders
parents and caregivers
faith community members
anyone who has a stake in prevention outcomes
Because community readiness doesn’t rise through passion alone—it rises through shared understanding.
Nicole and Rikki walk through how the curriculum covers topics like:
the foundations and evolution of prevention
theories and models that explain risk and protective factors
substance impacts (including brain-related learning that often doesn’t get taught well in prevention spaces)
ethics and professional development
practical application that connects “prevention science” to real decisions communities make every day
And here’s the key: this isn’t “academic for academic’s sake.” They’ve worked hard to make it digestible, relevant, and usable.
The part I loved: they built it intentionally for both in-person and virtual delivery
You and I have both seen it: a training designed for in-person gets shoved into Zoom… and it just doesn’t land.
Nicole and Rikki talk openly about that problem—and what they did differently.
They piloted and designed PCC with intention for both formats:
In-person delivery (2.5 days)
Virtual delivery (4 sessions, structured differently with different activities and engagement design)
That intentionality matters. It’s one of the reasons people leave this training actually feeling confident, not just “checked-the-box trained.”
The ToT (Train-the-Trainer) is not your average ToT
If you’re the kind of person who trains, facilitates, consults, or builds capacity in communities—lean in.
This episode explains why the PCC Train-the-Trainer is different from most ToTs out there.
Instead of:
sitting through the whole curriculum first
and then getting “a couple hours” of trainer prep at the end…
Their model assumes you’re a capable professional and designs the ToT to make better use of everyone’s time.
Their structure includes:
independent review of content (on your own time)
weekly live sessions (2 hours/week for 4 weeks)
collaborative question-driven learning
real facilitation coaching, including classroom management skills
And honestly, that facilitation piece is huge.
Rikki says it plainly: she’s been in the field 17 years and consulting/training nationally for 5—and had never been formally taught facilitation skills.
So they built that into the ToT.
That alone makes this episode worth the listen if you supervise staff, lead a coalition, or want to strengthen your training chops.
Why this is bigger than a training: workforce development + advocacy + sustainability
One of the best stories shared in the episode is about a participant who used a slide from the PCC training to advocate with legislators.
That’s the ripple effect we want:
trained professionals who can explain prevention clearly
community members who can spot ineffective strategies
leaders who can advocate for real investment in prevention infrastructure
They also talk about the economics (in a very real way):
how ToT certification can become a revenue stream for consultants and organizations
how workforce development dollars can often support participation
how private cohorts can be hosted for agencies/regions/states
why getting in early on PCC is a bit like “investing in Apple early” (their analogy, and I get it)
Bottom line? This curriculum isn’t just knowledge—it’s capacity.
Listen to the full episode if…
You should absolutely listen if you:
feel like prevention needs stronger professional development pathways
supervise prevention staff and want a training that builds confidence + competence
run a coalition and want your community partners to “get” prevention at a deeper level
are tired of “same old, same old” strategies that don’t match prevention science
facilitate trainings and want to sharpen your delivery skills
want to understand what PCC is and why it’s gaining traction nationally
Final thought
Prevention is better together. But it’s also better when we share a foundation—common language, shared understanding, and practical frameworks that make communities stronger.
This episode is a behind-the-scenes look at a curriculum designed to do exactly that.
If you care about the field, the workforce, and the future of prevention… go listen to the full conversation.
And while you’re listening, pay attention to this theme that keeps surfacing: the goal isn’t just to attend training—it’s to walk away empowered to do better prevention, and to build others up with you.
That’s how we change the game.
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