The "State Benchmarks of Quality" is used by a collaborative State Leadership Team(SLT) to assess progress and plan future actions so that Recommended Practices (RPs) are available for providers and families statewide. The Benchmarks are grounded in the science of implementation which bridges the gap between an evidence-based practice (EBP) and the actual high-fidelity implementation of that practice. Implementation has several stages beginning with assessing needs and exploring which EBPs to implement. Once the SLT has chosen to implement the RPs, the "Benchmarks of Quality" is used to track progress on the stages of planning/installation, implementation and scale-up as well as planning for sustainability. Activities related to sustaining the effort are embedded throughout the process rather than being left until later. [This report is excerpted from "Planning Guide to Statewide Implementation, Scale-Up, and Sustainability of Recommended Practices. RP[superscript 2]: Reaching Potentials through Recommended Practices" (ED575699).]