# Foster Care Mental Health Family Navigator

> **NIH NIH R34** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2022 · $241,310

## Abstract

Project Summary
Youth in the child welfare system have documented high rates of mental health symptoms and experience
significant disparities in mental health care services access and engagement relative to youth not in the child
welfare system. Navigator models have been developed in the healthcare field to address challenges of
service access, fragmentation and continuity that impact quality of care, but at present there is no empirically
supported mental health navigator model to address the unique and complex mental health needs of child
welfare involved (CWI) youth. This developmental study will be conducted in three phases consistent with
study aims. The study will take a mixed-methods, multi-informant participatory research approach to
developing, iteratively refining and pilot testing a Foster Care Family Navigator (FCFN) model to improve
mental health service outcomes for adolescents (ages 12-17) involved in the child welfare system. The
navigator model will leverage digital health technology to engage with and improve care coordination, tracking
and monitoring of mental health service needs for these youth and families. The study will adapt the JJ-
TRIALS Behavioral Health Services Cascade framework to support a data-driven decision-making approach to
improving identification of mental health service needs and outcomes. The study will first utilize a combination
of interagency collaborative meetings, youth and family focus groups and qualitative individual interviews with
multisystem stakeholders to guide the development of the FCFN protocol. Next an open trial of the 6-month
FCFN intervention will be conducted and the protocol iteratively refined through direct participant feedback.
The last phase of the study will focus on conducting a modified roll-out design of the FCFN intervention with 75
child welfare involved youth. Three cohorts of 25 youth and caregivers each will receive FCFN services for 6
months and will be compared on primary outcomes of mental health initiation and engagement to 50 youth and
caregivers who receive services as usual. We will explore mediators (e.g., satisfaction with navigator, youth
treatment motivation, perceived barriers to care) and moderators (e.g., race, ethnicity, sex) of intervention
impact to inform intervention mechanisms of change and key demographic and other contextual factors
associated with trial outcomes. Finally, we will also conduct qualitative exit interviews with trial participants and
navigators to gain a deeper understanding of influences on pilot outcomes that can inform future larger efficacy
and effectiveness trials.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10382292
- **Project number:** 5R34MH119433-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** MARINA TOLOU-SHAMS
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $241,310
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-04-20 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10382292

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10382292, Foster Care Mental Health Family Navigator (5R34MH119433-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10382292. Licensed CC0.

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