Intervention fidelity means that the intervention is implemented as intended. The STEEP program incorporates an implementation protocol to enhance fidelity. This protocol was created by Dr Joseph Witt who has published over 30 research studies on intervention implementation and acceptability. The protocol incorporates 3 practices that have been shown to improve implementation of school based interventions: (a) an implementation protocol to help prevent problems, (b) monitoring of fidelity, and (c) periodic review and feedback provided about implementation.

The most common reason for the failure of a student to respond to an intervention, contrary to popular belief, is not a weak intervention or one that is poorly matched to student need. Instead, the most common reason for failure is lack of consistent implementation of the intervention. Because of this, the STEEP model was built to help busy school professionals. Specifically, this means:

1. The number of interventions implemented in a school is kept small so that schools become fluent with implementation      of the interventions used.
2. Pre-training of teachers on interventions is used to decrease time required for intervention start-up for a particular      student.
3. Interventions are selected which are easier to implement and more manageable for teachers and others who use      the intervention.
4. Start-up training and support is used to ensure the intervention begins correctly.