Funder: UC College of the Law
PI: Johanna Folk
Co-Is: Cynthia Valencia, Jocelyn Meza, Michael Massa
Project EmpowerED is a collaborative grassroots effort to develop a Less Restrictive Program (LRP) for youth detained in Secure Youth Treatment Facility (SYTF) programs who are interested in pursuing higher education. LRPs are promising alternatives to youth incarceration, allowing youth to serve their time in community-based settings. This work is being led by Cre8innovations, a community-based organization led by formerly incarcerated young professionals in partnership with the Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR). The current study aims to document the LRP development process using implementation science frameworks to create a blueprint for future LRP development across California.
Funder: National Institute on Drug Abuse
(PI: Folk; K23 DA050798)
Goal: To evaluate a mobile health application intervention for caregivers of youth mandated to out-of-home placement by the juvenile justice system (like juvenile hall).
Research question: Does a mobile health application help caregivers of detained youth manage their stress and link their teens with behavioral health treatment post-detention?
Eligibility: Caregivers (parents, guardians) of youth ages 12–17 years, mandated to out-of-home placement by the juvenile justice system.
Project kINSHIP is funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (PI: Dauria; 1R34DA050480-01). This project aims to 1) Determine the content and structure of a peer-led PrEP screening and linkage navigation intervention (Project kINSHIP) for high-risk criminal justice involved (CJI) women; 2) Refine and test the content and structure of the kINSHIP intervention for CJI-women; and 3) Assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary impact of the kINSHIP intervention on internalized stigma and the PrEP continuum of care in a pilot randomized trial. Formative qualitative work with key stakeholders, including women on probation, probation staff, and medical/public health staff in Aim 1 will guide intervention development and testing in Aim 2.
In Aim 3, we will examine the primary outcome of PrEP service linkage and secondary outcomes such as time to linkage, PrEP prescription/initiation, and PrEP adherence/persistence. We will explore how intersectional stigma may moderate intervention effects on linkage to PrEP. The proposed study has the potential to: 1) reduce the impact of intersectional stigma as a barrier to service care engagement, 2) inform PrEP care continuum estimates for criminal justice-involved women as well as identify barriers, and 3) create an intervention suitable for large-scale efficacy testing and translation to other criminal justice settings.
This project, funded by the Presidio Giving Circle through the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital Foundation, will develop, iteratively refine, and pilot test a Family Mental Health Navigator (FMHN) model aimed toward improving mental health service outcomes for publicly insured adolescents (ages 12-17). Adolescents and their parents who seek pediatric primary care services at Zuckerberg SF General Hospital and are referred for behavioral health (mental health and substance use-related) services by their provider will be eligible to participate. The navigator model will incorporate digital health technology to engage with youth and families and improve care coordination, tracking, and monitoring of behavioral health service needs for these youth and families.
This study is developing and testing a family mental health navigator model to specifically meet and support the behavioral health needs and multiple systems-involvement of foster care youth. The Foster Care Family Navigator (FCFN) intervention is partnering with the San Francisco Unified Family Court, the Human Services Agency of San Francisco, the San Francisco Department of Public Health, Children Youth and Families, Foster Care Mental Health clinic and others to assist this population with mental health services access and engagement. Combining family-based intervention and mHealth, the FCFN will inform future interventions assisting child welfare-involved youth and families navigating complex systems when seeking mental health care.
PLEASE CLICK ON THE VIDEO BELOW TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THE STUDY:
If you’re interested in participating in this project, please click this link and provide us with your contact information.
PARA MÁS INFORMACIÓN EN ESPAÑOL SOBRE EL ESTUDIO, HAGA CLIC EN EL SIGUIENTE VIDEO:
The Family Telehealth Project is funded by the Visa Foundation and the American Psychology-Law Society. Designed to meet the unique needs of youth and families impacted by the child welfare system in California, the study involves adapting an empirically supported family-based affect management intervention in collaboration with key stakeholders (youth, caregivers, child welfare, probation, court, school) to be delivered via telehealth. The intervention was also linguistically and culturally adapted for delivery to Spanish-speaking caregivers, including modifications to enhance cultural meaning and relevance. The study aims to improve behavioral health outcomes and reduce housing instability among youth involved in the child welfare system by increasing youth and caregivers’ affect management abilities and improving the caregiver-youth relationship.
Child-welfare involved youth (ages 12-18 years) and their caregivers are eligible to participate in the Family Telehealth Project. Caregivers of origin can participate with
their youth or individually. Kinship and foster caregivers can participate individually. Participants will receive compensation in the form of gift cards for completing brief surveys. For more information, please contact our Family Telehealth Project Coordinator, Sarah Anvar (Phone: 415-728-7913; Email: sarah.anvar@ucsf.edu)
The VOICES Project is funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (PI Tolou-Shams; R01DA035231). This recently completed, five-year study tested the efficacy of the adolescent group-based VOICES program; a gender responsive, trauma-informed substance use intervention for girls and young women who are at risk to be or are already involved with the justice system. Developed by Stephanie Covington, PhD, LCSW, the VOICES curriculum aims to address the unique needs of adolescent girls and young women, providing them with a safe space, support, and tools for self-empowerment. The VOICES trial enrolled 132 girls and young women (ages 12-24) and randomized them to receive the VOICES program or a psychoeducational group (“GirlHealth”). Data are currently being analyzed to assess the efficacy of the VOICES program in reducing participant’s substance use and HIV/STI risk behaviors up to 6 months post-intervention completion.