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Enrolling by Invitation

NCT Number: NCT07439783

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.

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.

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Key information

Conditions

Substance Use Disorder Chemically-Induced Disorders Child Maltreatment Implementation Mental Disorders Narcotic-Related Disorders Opioid Use Disorder Opioid-Related Disorders Peer Recovery Supporters Substance-Related Disorders

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Ohio State University

Columbus, Ohio, 43235, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • 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.

Exclusion criteria

  • Not involved in Ohio START

Treatment and study plan

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.

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.

Primary outcomes

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

    Time frame: Collected at Baseline, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, and Year 5

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

  2. Change Over Time in Staff Retention

    Time frame: Collected at Baseline, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, Year 5

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

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change Over Time in Service Timeliness

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

    Count of days to receive:

    • Family peer mentor visit
    • Substance use disorder assessment
    • First substance use disorder treatment

  2. Change Over Time in Implementation Fidelity

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

    Delivery of START model components.

    • Family peer mentor visit, any substance use disorder treatment, medically assisted treatment (binary)
    • Total number of substance use disorder treatment sessions received (count)

  3. Change Over Time in Program Completion Rate

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

    Administrative records indicate parent discharge reason as "completed the family case plan" (binary)

  4. Change Over Time in Family Reunification Rates

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

    At the time of child welfare case close, proportion of child(ren) who are living with family.

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

    Time frame: Collected at Baseline, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, and Year 5

    This scale contains 13 items rated along a 6-point scale from 0 = strongly disagree to 6 = strongly agree

  6. Change Over Time in Role Clarity as Assessed by the Role Conflict-Role Ambiguity Scale

    Time frame: Collected at Baseline, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, and Year 5

    This scale contains 14 items that measure the degree to which respondents perceive that there is conflict or incongruence (8 items; role conflict) and uncertainty in what is expected of them in their role (6-items, role ambiguity). Participants rate each statement on a 7-point scale (1=Very false, 7=Very true)

  7. Change Over Time in Implementation Leadership as Assessed by the Implementation Leadership Scale (ILS)

    Time frame: Collected at Baseline, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, and Year 5

    The Implementation Leadership Scale (ILS) measures the degree to which those in leadership positions support or hinder the process of implementation. This scale contains four subscales (proactive, knowledgeable, supportive, and perseverant leadership) measured using 12 items that are rated on a 5-point scale from 0=not at all to 4=very great extent.

  8. Change Over Time in Implementation Climate as assessed using a 9-item scale

    Time frame: Collected at Baseline, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, and Year 5

    The degree to which START is perceived to be expected, supported, and rewarded within the systems will be assessed using a 9-item scale that assesses innovation supports, expectations, and rewards. Items are rated on a 5-point scale from 1=disagree to 5=agree.

  9. Change Over Time in Job Satisfaction as Assessed by the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS)

    Time frame: Collected at Baseline, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, and Year 5

    This survey was developed for use in human service and public organizations and contains 36 items that reflect satisfaction with 9 job dimensions: pay, benefits, contingent rewards, promotion opportunities, supervision, nature of the work, communication, coworkers, and work conditions. Items are rated on a 6-point scale from 1=disagree very much to 6=agree very much. The JSS is one of the few job satisfaction scales with evidence of validity and reliability.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Alicia Bunger

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Staffing and Supports for Implementing Cross-System Interventions With Peer Mentors

Acronym: COSTARS

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2030
Study completion
2030
First posted
Feb 27, 2026
Registry last updated
Jul 13, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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