Clinical trial NCT02173314: Nevada Initiative to Reduce Long-Term Foster Care
Official title: Permanency Innovations Initiative- Nevada Initiative to Reduce Long-Term Foster Care
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: At Risk for Foster
In Foster Care
Keywords: Long term foster care
child abuse and neglect
Lead sponsor: Westat
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Children's Bureau - Administration for Children and Families
First posted: 2014-06-24
Enrollment: 507
Sex: ALL
Maximum age (years): 18
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The evaluation of the Nevada Initiative to Reduce Long-Term Foster Care (LTFC) includes three populations. It will examine how the interventions SAFE- FC and FSE impact or relate to permanency outcomes for children most at risk for long term foster care and currently in care.

Detailed description: The project targets three populations of children. For populations 1 and 2, the study will evaluate an intervention known as SAFE-FC. The intervention aims to prevent long term foster care by providing tailored services and intensive engagement with all new families with children identified as unsafe (Population 1) and for cases that are currently in care and at risk of LTFC where reunification is the case goal (Population 2). Family Search and Engagement (FSE) is the intervention for Population 3; it involves intense search practices to identify possible permanency resources. For Populations 1 and 2 the study is a randomized, intent-to-treat design to measure safety and permanency outcomes. For Population 3 the evaluation will be a descriptive study to analyze relationships between the intervention approach and outcomes. Both studies aim to examine how the interventions (SAFE- FC and FSE) impact or relate to permanency outcomes for children most at risk for long term foster care.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Children assessed to be unsafe via the Nevada Initial Assessment
* children in foster care with specific risk characteristics.

Exclusion Criteria:

-

Primary outcomes:
measure: Time to stable permanence
timeFrame: Measured from the date of random assignment to the discharge date or to the end of the study period for cases that did not discharge
measure: Caregiver readiness for change
timeFrame: Measured at intake, at 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, and again at case closure (participants will be followed throughout the duration of their involvement with Washoe County DSS which is on average 24 months)
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Caregiver stress
timeFrame: Measured at intake, at 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, and again at case closure (participants will be followed throughout the duration of their involvement with Washoe County DSS which is on average 24 months)
Other outcomes:
measure: Caregiver mental health
timeFrame: Measured at intake, at 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, and again at case closure (participants will be followed throughout the duration of their involvement with Washoe County DSS which is on average 24 months)
measure: Child behavior/mental health problems
timeFrame: Measured at intake, at 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, and again at case closure (participants will be followed throughout the duration of their involvement with Washoe County DSS which is on average 24 months)
measure: Positive parenting attitudes
timeFrame: Measured at intake, at 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, and again at case closure (participants will be followed throughout the duration of their involvement with Washoe County DSS which is on average 24 months)
measure: Social support
timeFrame: Measured at intake, at 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, and again at case closure (participants will be followed throughout the duration of their involvement with Washoe County DSS which is on average 24 months)
measure: Helping alliance for both caregiver and worker
timeFrame: Measured at 6 months and again at case closure (duration of their involvement with Washoe County DSS is on average 24 months)
measure: Resiliency
timeFrame: Measured at intake, at 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, and again at case closure (participants will be followed throughout the duration of their involvement with Washoe County DSS which is on average 24 months)
measure: Home stability
timeFrame: Measured at intake, at 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, and again at case closure (participants will be followed throughout the duration of their involvement with Washoe County DSS which is on average 24 months)
measure: Time to permanency
timeFrame: Measured every six months in calendar year
measure: Recurrence of child abuse and neglect
timeFrame: Measured every six months in calendar year
measure: Placement rate (population 1 only)
timeFrame: Measured every six months in calendar year
measure: Time for case closure
timeFrame: Measured every six months in calendar year
measure: Time to reunification
timeFrame: Measured every six months in calendar year
measure: Foster care re entry rate
timeFrame: Measured every six months in calendar year
Locations:
Study officials:
affiliation: Westat
name: Andrea Sedlak, PhD.
role: STUDY_DIRECTOR
affiliation: University of North Carolina
name: Mark Testa, PhD.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: