Foster Teens' Risk During Transition

NCT02037750 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: R01DA032634
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 173
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to conduct a randomized effectiveness trial to determine whether adding a preventive intervention at the transition from elementary to middle school is effective and cost effective in terms of ameliorating outcomes such as drug and tobacco use, participation in HIV- risking sexual behavior, delinquency, mental health problems, and school failure for young adolescents in foster care. The proposed LINKS intervention marries the goals of child welfare and educational systems. The aims are: a) to determine the effectiveness of the LINKS intervention on key behavioral health and school adjustment outcomes, b) to examine mechanisms of action; specifically the mediating effects of placement failure on outcomes, c) to examine the moderating role of fidelity on outcomes, and d) to examine cost effectiveness and cost avoidance of LINKS.

Conditions

School Adjustment; Foster Care Disruptions

Keywords

foster care; school adjustment

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Number of Placement Failures

  between Baseline and 18-Months later

Study Arms (2)

LINKS

EXPERIMENTAL

Foster parent and child participate in 16-week intervention

Behavioral: LINKS

Services as Usual

NO INTERVENTION

Foster parent and child receive standard services through child welfare system

Interventions

LINKS BEHAVIORAL

In the LINKS, foster/kin parents will participate in weekly group meetings led by well-trained and supervised paraprofessional facilitators (school behavioral aids and foster parents) where the curriculum is based on parent management training (PMT). In previous studies, attendance at such groups has been high, averaging about 75-80%. Missed sessions will be "made up" with an in-person visit to the foster/kin home during the week of the original session. In addition, youth in the intervention condition will receive individual skill building sessions from a Life Skills Coach to increase their competency at goal setting, refusal skills, and peer relations.

LINKS

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 9 Years - 13 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• the focal youth will be transitioning into middle school
• the focal youth is in either a foster or kinship care home
• the focal youth has been in the home for a minimum of 30 days (including those who are newly placed in care and those moving from another type of placement).

You may not qualify if:

• youth who are are considered medically fragile (i.e., severely physically or mentally handicapped)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Oregon Social Learning Center: lead
• San Diego State University: collaborator

Study Sites (2)

San Diego State University Foundation

San Diego, California, 92182-1948, United States

Location

Oregon Social Learning Center

Eugene, Oregon, 97401, United States

Location

Study Officials

• Patricia Chamberlain, Phd

  Oregon Social Learning Center

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 13, 2014
• First Posted: January 16, 2014
• Study Start: December 1, 2012
• Primary Completion: June 1, 2018
• Study Completion: June 1, 2018
• Last Updated: November 23, 2018

Record last verified: 2018-11

Locations

US (2)