Testing the CrOss Systems Technical Assistance for Retaining Staff (COSTARS) Model for Improving Staff Retention Among Child Welfare Workers and Peer Supporters, and Implementation of Evidence Based Interventions.

NCT07439783 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: R33DA059893
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 200
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

The goal of this study is to test whether the CrOss System Technical Assistance for Retaining Staff (COSTARS) supervision leadership institute can promote workforce stability and improved implementation outcomes within the Ohio START child welfare program. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Among supervisors, caseworkers, and family peer mentors, what is the effect of COSTARS on staff retention and perceptions of the work environment?
• What is the effect of COSTARS on service timeliness, implementation fidelity, and parent outcomes within Ohio START? Researchers will compare public children services agencies implementing COSTARS to those implementing supervision practices as usual to see if there are differences between groups in the outcomes described above. Participating supervisors will:
• Complete a 6-hour training workshop in the FOCUS model of supervision.
• Participate in monthly group coaching sessions with other supervisors, for approximately one year.
• Receive individualized feedback from coaches about their supervision performance.

Conditions

Substance Use Disorder; Opioid Use Disorder; Child Maltreatment; Implementation; Peer Recovery Supporters

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Change Over Time in Employee Intention to Leave Position, as Assessed by the Turnover Intention Scale (TIS-6)

  The Turnover Intention Scale (TIS-6) measures the degree to which an employee intends to leave their job.

  Collected at Baseline, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, and Year 5

• Change Over Time in Staff Retention

  Number of months family peer mentors and caseworkers serve in their position.

  Collected at Baseline, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5

Secondary Outcomes (9)

• Change Over Time in Service Timeliness

  Collected from administrative records at Baseline, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, and Year 5.

• Change Over Time in Implementation Fidelity

  Collected from administrative records at Baseline, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, and Year 5.

• Change Over Time in Program Completion Rate

  Collected from administrative records at Baseline, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, and Year 5.

• Change Over Time in Family Reunification Rates

  Collected from administrative records at Baseline, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, and Year 5.

• Change Over Time in Perceived Stigma as assessed by the Child Welfare Worker Attitudes about Addiction Scale

  Collected at Baseline, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, and Year 5

Study Arms (2)

COSTARS

EXPERIMENTAL

To receive the COSTARS intervention

Other: COSTARS; Other: Implementation As Usual

Implementation As Usual

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Implementation As Usual

Other: Implementation As Usual

Interventions

COSTARS OTHER

CrOss System Technical Assistance for Retaining Staff (COSTARS) is designed to help child welfare supervisors support the case workers and family peer mentors on their teams so that they can deliver programs like Ohio START to families affected by substance use disorder. COSTARS will deliver personalized coaching support to child welfare supervisors by a pair of coaches: one with child welfare expertise and one with lived recovery/child welfare experience. Supervisors will participate in a group training that emphasizes supportive supervision practices, and then receive up to two years of ongoing coaching support that involves monthly calls, and written feedback based on recorded supervision sessions.

COSTARS

Implementation As Usual OTHER

Implementation as Usual includes training on the model, monthly technical assistance calls focused on model fidelity, regular audits of programmatic data, and monthly group calls with implementers from across the state.

COSTARS; Implementation As Usual

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Adults employed as supervisors in child welfare agencies who are leading teams of case workers and family peer mentors as part of Ohio START implementation.

You may not qualify if:

• Not involved in Ohio START

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Alicia Bunger: lead

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Substance-Related Disorders; Opioid-Related Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Chemically-Induced Disorders; Mental Disorders; Narcotic-Related Disorders

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 17, 2025
• First Posted: February 27, 2026
• Study Start: March 30, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 31, 2030
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 31, 2030
• Last Updated: February 27, 2026

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF, CSR, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: August 31, 2030