KEEP Connecting Kin

NCT06294392 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 90FA3010
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 192
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The current study provides a unique opportunity to conduct a summative evaluation of the KEEP Connecting Kin (KEEP-CK) program by leveraging extant relationships with Oregon's Child Welfare System (CWS), Self-Sufficiency Program (SSP), and our community partners to address the needs of informal kinship families and the youth in their care. Specifically, a randomized "services-as-usual" (SAU) waitlist control design plus qualitative methods will be used to evaluate the immediate (post-intervention) and sustained (10 month) impacts of the KEEP-CK program on child, adult, and service utilization outcomes, and prevention of entry into the CWS.

Conditions

Internalizing Behavior; Externalizing Behavior; Child Permanency; Parenting; Parent Stress; Service Utilization

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (6)

• Mean change in youth well-being (i.e., behavioral and emotional functioning, including child internalizing and externalizing behaviors)

  Youth well-being will be measured via kinship parent report using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at baseline and 4- and 10-months post-baseline. The CBCL has eight subscales (anxious/depressed, withdrawn/depressed, somatic complaints, social problems, thought problems, attention problems, rule-breaking behavior \[delinquency\], and aggressive behavior), which make up three broadband scales: total behavior, internalizing, and externalizing problems.

  Baseline, and 4- and 10-months post-baseline

• Mean change in child permanency (i.e., placement stability and permanency of placements)

  All children will be living in informal kinship care at the time of the baseline assessment. Changes in the child's placement setting (living conditions) will be measured via kinship parent report using the Change of Placement questionnaire at 4- and 10-months post-baseline.

  Baseline, and 4- and 10-months post-baseline

• Mean change in parenting practices and parent/caregiver stress.

  Parenting practices and parent/caregiver stress will be measured via the Parent Daily Report (PDR) at baseline and 4- and 10-months post-baseline. The PDR assesses whether the parent found any of the focal child's internalizing and externalizing behaviors to be stressful, and the types of positive reinforcement and discipline that were used with the child.

  Baseline, and 4- and 10-months post-baseline

• Mean change in parent/caregiver stress.

  Parent/caregiver stress will be measured via a shortened version of the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) short form at baseline and 4- and 10-months post-baseline to assess two domains, including parental distress, and parent-child dysfunctional interaction.

  Baseline, and 4- and 10-months post-baseline

• Mean change in parenting practices.

  Parenting practices will be measured via the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ) short form at baseline and 4- and 10-months post-baseline. The APQ short form assesses positive parenting, and the types of, and consistency with which, discipline was used with the focal child.

  Baseline, and 4- and 10-months post-baseline

• Mean change in parents' use of services from multiple systems (financial, educational, mental health, medical, legal)

  Parents will complete the Service Utilization Survey (SUS) at baseline and 4- and 10-months post-baseline, which is a measure of need for, and use of, health care and social services. Parents report on services that they have sought and used for themselves or the focus child over a 4- to 6-month period. The types of services include: housing, legal matters, financial, parenting support, medical, counseling/mental health, education, extracurricular activities, and social support from friends/relatives.

  Baseline, and 4- and 10-months post-baseline

Study Arms (2)

KEEP-CK

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants who are randomly assigned to the KEEP-CK condition will participate in 16 weekly group sessions with 8-12 other informal kinship caregivers, and receive manualized content related to positive parenting skills, and peer-to-peer supports and recommendations for services.

Behavioral: KEEP-CK

"Services as usual" (SAU) waitlist control

NO INTERVENTION

Participants who are randomly assigned to the "services as usual" (SAU) waitlist control condition will be eligible to receive SAU that are available to all informal kinship caregivers in Oregon. Participants who ask about receiving supports will be referred to the Oregon Kinship Navigator, which is a statewide kinship navigator program that is available to all informal kinship caregivers in Oregon regardless of their participation in this study. Participants in the SAU waitlist control condition will be offered the opportunity to participate in a KEEP-CK group after 10 months, with these participants only contribute data to the SAU control condition for the impact analyses.

Interventions

KEEP-CK BEHAVIORAL

The KEEP-CK model focuses on optimizing the role of kinship parents as the agents of positive change for children and youth. KEEP-CK groups for kinship parents are delivered by two co-group leaders for 16 weeks. Sessions are 90 minutes each week. The same group of 8-12 kinship parents attends each week. Each KEEP-CK group follows a manualized curriculum that emphasizes tailoring the content to the unique needs and cultures of the parent in the group and the youth in their care. The key parenting principles of the model include: (a) reinforce normative and prosocial behavior, (b) incentivize the behavior that parents want to promote, (c) build cooperation, (d) teach new behaviors, (e) use non-harsh effective limit setting, and (f) manage emotions while parenting. The key services connection elements of the model include: (a) parent discussions of services they are using or have used and (b) KEEP-CK group leaders share examples from a list of statewide and national services.

KEEP-CK

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 4 Years - 18 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Informal kinship caregivers in Oregon are defined as relatives or fictive kin who are caring for children between the ages of 4 to 18 years outside of the child welfare system with no birth/step parent living in the home.

You may not qualify if:

• Informal kinship caregivers in Oregon who have previously participated in a KEEP or KEEP-CK group, or have a partner living in their home who has previously participated in a KEEP or KEEP-CK group.
• Focal child is not between the ages of 4-18 years at the baseline assessment.
• Focal child has been adopted by the kinship parent at the baseline assessment.
• Focal child is not living with the kinship caregiver full time (e.g., babysitting/weekends/vacations) at the baseline assessment.
• Focal child is in child welfare at the baseline assessment.
• Focal child is living with the kinship caregiver in a certified foster home at the baseline assessment.
• Focal child has a developmental disability or delay that impairs their ability to be responsive to the parenting content of KEEP-CK.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Oregon Social Learning Center: lead
• Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Oregon Center Learning Center

Eugene, Oregon, 97401, United States

Location

Study Officials

• Stacey Tiberio, Ph.D.

  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: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Model Details: Informal kinship caregivers will be randomly assigned to receive the KEEP-CK program either immediately or after waiting 10 months using a randomized blocked design. Blocking factors include: (a) the length of time that the child has been living in informal kinship care (\<=6 months, 7 months to \<2 years, or \>=2 years); (b) child age (4 to 12 years, or 13+ years); and (c) low (or not low) resource families, defined by an annual household income below (or above) 150% of the federal poverty level.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 14, 2024
• First Posted: March 5, 2024
• Study Start: February 13, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Last Updated: September 22, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)