Family Navigator Plus for Foster Parents

NCT ID: NCT06978959

Last Updated: 2026-01-27

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

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

12 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2026-01-12

Study Completion Date

2028-12-31

Brief Summary

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The investigators have designed a 5-week Family Navigator Plus (FN+) educational program to support foster parents in better understanding their youth's mental health needs and in finding mental health services. The purpose of this interventional study is to assess the the program's acceptability (e.g., satisfaction, barriers to participation, and burden), utility (e.g., how useful foster parents found the program to be), and feasibility (e.g., number referred who meet eligibility, time to complete assessments, self-reported feasibility). The investigators hypothesize that our program will be acceptable, useful, and feasible for foster parents of youth with mental health needs.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Intervention

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NA

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Foster Parents

Participants will consist of adult (age 18 and older) foster parents of youth between the ages of 6 and 17 with mental health needs. Participants will be located in Illinois, and be either English or Spanish speaking. Participants will attend a 5-week educational program (one session per week) that aims to support them in understanding child behaviors, finding and access mental health services, communicating with providers, and using technology to find support.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

FN+ Intervention

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Participants will attend 5 one-on-one sessions over the course of 5 weeks; they will meet with a family navigator over video conferencing software (e.g., Zoom). The purpose of each sessions are as follows: 1) Provide an overview of the program and help parents understand their perceptions of child behaviors, 2) Train parents to find, access, and overcome barriers to mental health services, 3) Build parent capacity in understanding how mental health treatment works and how to communicate with providers, 4) Help parents understand the common function of child behaviors, and 5) Train parents to find, evaluate, and use online mental health tools. Participants will complete measures of child symptoms, parent activation, barriers to treatment, and/or satisfaction with the program before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and 3 months after completing the intervention.

Interventions

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FN+ Intervention

Participants will attend 5 one-on-one sessions over the course of 5 weeks; they will meet with a family navigator over video conferencing software (e.g., Zoom). The purpose of each sessions are as follows: 1) Provide an overview of the program and help parents understand their perceptions of child behaviors, 2) Train parents to find, access, and overcome barriers to mental health services, 3) Build parent capacity in understanding how mental health treatment works and how to communicate with providers, 4) Help parents understand the common function of child behaviors, and 5) Train parents to find, evaluate, and use online mental health tools. Participants will complete measures of child symptoms, parent activation, barriers to treatment, and/or satisfaction with the program before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and 3 months after completing the intervention.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Foster parent of a youth between the ages of 6 to 17 with mental health needs
* Parent adopted child from foster care
* Living in Illinois, United States
* English or Spanish speaking
* Has access to internet and videoconferencing

Exclusion Criteria

\- Participated in the FN+ Focus Groups or PROACTIVE Parent Pilot Study
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

Northwestern University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Heather Risser

Assistant Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Heather J Risser, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Northwestern University

Enrollment Contact, If interested in participation

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

Northwestern University email [email protected]

Locations

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Northwestern University

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Heather J Risser, PhD

Role: CONTACT

312-848-3019

Christina L Boisseau, PhD

Role: CONTACT

804-332-1627

Facility Contacts

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Heather J Risser, PhD

Role: primary

312-848-3019

Christina L Boisseau, PhD

Role: backup

804-332-1627

References

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Risser, H. J., Morford, A. E., Murphy, A. N., Pinkerton, L. M., Law, C., Yang, Y., ... & Boisseau, C. L. (2024). Feasibility and acceptability of a family navigator program to support foster parents of youth with mental health concerns. Children and Youth Services Review, 160, 107578.

Reference Type BACKGROUND

Other Identifiers

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STU00222882

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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