Foster Care Mental Health Family Navigator

The study will demonstrate how a family-based navigator intervention combined with mHealth may lead to improved mental health treatment initiation and engagement among child welfare-involved (CWI) youth. CWI youth have high rates of mental health symptoms relative to youth in the community, and are disproportionately racial and ethnic minorities, only perpetuating disparities in this population's mental health access and engagement. The proposed project will develop and test a family-based navigator intervention, the Foster Care Family Navigator (FCFN), a natural fit for improving CWI youth mental health service and clinical outcomes. The study will start with identifying the feasibility and acceptability of the FCFN intervention. Then, the study will determine whether the FCFN intervention improves CWI youth mental health treatment initiation and engagement, relative to standard of care (case management). Finally, the study will characterize patterns of pre- and post-service outcomes along the behavioral health services cascade of care, to further evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary impact of the FCFN model.

Inclusion criteria

• English-speaking youth
• Ages 12-17
• Have an active dependency petition with the SF Unified Family Court (newly filed or existing when the trial starts)
• Are open to SF DPH Foster Care Mental Health Clinic services
• Have an involved caregiver/legal guardian for consent
• Family has mobile phone access

Exclusion criteria

• Youth is not English-speaking
• Caregiver has impairment that would preclude providing informed consent
• Unavailable guardian for consent