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KITS: School Readiness in Foster Care Efficacy Trial

NCT ID: NCT00688129

Last Updated: 2017-09-19

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

192 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2005-09-30

Study Completion Date

2016-12-31

Brief Summary

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The KITS project is a 5-year randomized trial to evaluate a program designed to enhance academic and social-emotional aspects of school readiness for foster preschoolers.

Detailed Description

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The overarching goal of this research project is to conduct a randomized efficacy trial of a preventive intervention-the Kids in Transition to School (KITS) program-to enhance socioemotional and academic school readiness among preschool-aged foster children. Foster children are at great risk for poor social and academic school outcomes. Because of their experiences of early adversity, these children may have particular vulnerabilities that decrease the likelihood of a successful transition to school. Extensive prior research has shown that chronic early adversity is associated with alterations in the functioning of key neural systems (specifically, prefrontal cortex function and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity) related to self-regulation and stress reactivity. Alterations in these systems may interfere with children's abilities to relate to peers, to maintain focused attention, to follow directions, and to learn academic skills. Additionally, because these children are likely to have experienced multiple living transitions, they may be at a disadvantage in terms of caregiver involvement in school, a critical aspect of early school success. Foster children are recruited in the spring before they enter kindergarten and randomly assigned to the intervention and comparison conditions. The KITS intervention includes three components: (a) child therapeutic play groups to facilitate the development of self-regulatory, social, and emergent literacy skills; (b) a psychoeducational support group to promote caregiver involvement in the child's emergent literacy and schooling and the use of effective parenting techniques; (c) home- and school-based behavioral consultation. The intervention coincides with the transition into kindergarten. Multi-method, multi-agent assessments of the children's socioemotional readiness and literacy skills are conducted at baseline, kindergarten entry, and postkindergarten. We will examine the direct effects of the intervention on school readiness and kindergarten outcomes. We will also assess whether intervention effects are mediated through mechanisms of stress reactivity and regulation and caregiver variables. Finally, we will test for moderator effects of child and contextual characteristics including early adversity (prenatal/neonatal health, maltreatment history and placement history), child cognitive functioning, and placement transitions during the course of the study. An additional exploratory aim of the study is to examine intervention effects on first and second grade outcomes for subsamples of children. Group comparisons and longitudinal growth modeling will allow for evaluation of hypotheses.

Conditions

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School Readiness

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

DIAGNOSTIC

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

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KITS Program

The KITS intervention consists of: (a) child therapeutic play groups to facilitate the development of self-regulatory, social, and emergent literacy skills (2 times per week in summer, 1 times per week in the fall); (b) a bi-monthly psychoeducational support group to promote caregiver involvement in the child's emergent literacy and schooling and the use of effective parenting techniques; (c) home- and school-based behavioral consultation on an as needed basis.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

KITS Program

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

This is a 4-month psychosocial intervention for foster children entering kindergarten and their caregivers beginning the summer before kindergarten. The KITS intervention consists of: (a) child therapeutic play groups to facilitate the development of self-regulatory, social, and emergent literacy skills (2 times per week in summer, 1 times per week in the fall); (b) a bi-monthly psychoeducational support group to promote caregiver involvement in the child's emergent literacy and schooling and the use of effective parenting techniques; (c) home- and school-based behavioral consultation on an as needed basis.

Services as usual

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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KITS Program

This is a 4-month psychosocial intervention for foster children entering kindergarten and their caregivers beginning the summer before kindergarten. The KITS intervention consists of: (a) child therapeutic play groups to facilitate the development of self-regulatory, social, and emergent literacy skills (2 times per week in summer, 1 times per week in the fall); (b) a bi-monthly psychoeducational support group to promote caregiver involvement in the child's emergent literacy and schooling and the use of effective parenting techniques; (c) home- and school-based behavioral consultation on an as needed basis.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Other Intervention Names

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Kids in Transition to School (KITS) Program

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* a child currently in foster care
* living in Lane or Marion County, Oregon
* eligible to enter Kindergarten in fall of assessment year (age 5 by September 1 of assessment year)

Exclusion Criteria

* medical or developmental condition which would prevent the child from completing the assessment tasks
* current or previous involvement in Oregon Social Learning Center treatment programs
Minimum Eligible Age

4 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

6 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

Oregon Social Learning Center

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Katherine C. Pears

Research Scientist

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Katherine C Pears, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Oregon Social Learning Center

Locations

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Oregon Social Learning Center

Eugene, Oregon, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Pears KC, Fisher PA, Bronz KD. An Intervention to Promote Social Emotional School Readiness in Foster Children: Preliminary Outcomes From a Pilot Study. School Psych Rev. 2007;36(4):665-673.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 19057655 (View on PubMed)

Pears KC, Fisher PA, Kim HK, Bruce J, Healey CV, Yoerger K. Immediate Effects of a School Readiness Intervention for Children in Foster Care. Early Educ Dev. 2013 Aug;24(6):771-791. doi: 10.1080/10409289.2013.736037.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24015056 (View on PubMed)

Pears KC, Kim HK, Fisher PA. Effects of a School Readiness Intervention for Children in Foster Care on Oppositional and Aggressive Behaviors in Kindergarten. Child Youth Serv Rev. 2012 Dec;34(12):2361-2366. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.08.015. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23710106 (View on PubMed)

Related Links

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http://www.oslc.org

Oregon Social Learning Center website

Other Identifiers

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R01DA021424

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

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R01DA021424

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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