NTER Office Initiatives
This project has concluded.
So What?
The National Threat Evaluation and Reporting Office's (NTER) Master Trainer Program prepares individuals within federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial government agencies to become Certified Master Trainers, who educate members of their communities on behavioral threat assessment and management practices to prevent violence and mitigate threats. There are currently 180 Certified Trainers with 150 more expected to complete training in 2023.
Project Summary
NTER seeks the help of NCITE to evaluate the effectiveness of the Master Trainer Program and offer recommendations for enhancing outcomes for Certified Master Trainers. This project will assess the effectiveness of the Master Trainer Program and provide recommendations for future training and evaluation. Additionally, it will support NTER’s efforts to develop knowledge about Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management program setup and implementation.
Purpose/Objective
The aim of this project is to provide recommendations for improving the Master Trainer Program so that NTER can better support Certified Master Trainers’ efforts to educate their communities about violence prevention and mitigation efforts.
Method
To evaluate the Master Trainer Program, the research team will collect existing documentation on past participant outcomes and interview relevant contributors and stakeholders of the Master Trainer Program, such as NTER personnel, those from other DHS components and other government agencies, and Master Trainer Program alumni. Additionally, members of the research team will review threat assessment program setup guides and draw from prior threat assessment experience to inform NTER’s refinement of the Master Trainer Program, as well as NTER’s Behavioral Threat Assessment Integration initiatives.
Projected outputs and impact
- Program evaluation reports
- Behavioral threat assessment and management program setup and implementation recommendations
Reports and Publications
BTAM: Building a Shared Understanding
BTAM: Barriers to Continuity of Care
BTAM: A Deep Bench of Resources
BTAM: Cooperation, Not Coercion
BTAM: Pros and Cons of Different Cadences
BTAM: There are no "Typical" Cases
BTAM: The Critical Role of Parents
BTAM: The Interagency Approach
Research Team
Andrea Walker, Ph.D. (PI)
- University of Nebraska at Omaha
- Research Associate at NCITE
- Center for Collaboration Sciences
- Expertise: Qualitative methods, program evaluation, sex offender treatment and policies
Tin Nguyen, Ph.D.
- University of Nebraska at Omaha
- Research Associate and Technology Transition Lead at NCITE
- College of Business Administration
- Expertise: Technology transition, industrial-organizational psychology
Roni Reiter-Palmon, Ph.D.
- University of Nebraska at Omaha
- Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology
- College of Arts and Sciences
- Expertise: Creative problem identification and evaluation, personnel training and development
William Kramer, Ph.D.
- University of Nebraska at Omaha
- Assistant Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology
- College of Arts and Sciences
- Expertise: Teamwork, multi-team systems, personnel training and development
Denise Bulling, Ph.D.
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Senior Research Director at the Nebraska Public Policy Center
- Expertise: Civil and government systems, behavioral health, threat assessment, program evaluation
Erin Kearns, Ph.D.
- University of Nebraska at Omaha
- Associate Professor, Head of Prevention Research Initiatives at NCITE
- School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
- Expertise: Relationship between public perceptions of terrorism and counterterrorism practices, relationship between communities and law enforcement
Mario Scalora, Ph.D.
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Professor of Psychology
- Director of the Nebraska Public Policy Center
- Expertise: Threat assessment, terrorism and targeted violence risk assessment