RT Journal
A1 Taussig HN, Culhane SE
T1 IMpact of a mentoring and skills group program on mental health outcomes for maltreated children in foster care
JF Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
JO Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
YR 2010
FD August 1
VO 164
IS 8
SP 739
OP 746
DO 10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.124
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.124
AB Objective 
    To evaluate the efficacy of the Fostering Healthy Futures program in reducing mental health problems and associated problems.Design 
    Randomized controlled trial.Setting 
    Denver metropolitan area.Participants 
    Children aged 9 to 11 years who were maltreated and placed in foster care.Intervention 
    Children in the control group (n = 77) received an assessment of their cognitive, educational, and mental health functioning. Children in the intervention group (n = 79) received the assessment and participated in a 9-month mentoring and skills group program.Main Outcome Measures 
    Children and caregivers were interviewed at baseline prior to randomization, immediately following the intervention, and 6 months after the intervention. Teachers were interviewed 2 times after baseline. Measures included a multi-informant index of mental health problems, youth-reported symptoms of posttraumatic stress, dissociation, and quality of life, and caregiver- and youth-reported use of mental health services and psychotropic medications.Results 
    After adjusting for covariates, intent-to-treat analyses demonstrated that the treatment group had fewer mental health problems on a multi-informant factor 6 months after the intervention (mean difference, −0.51; 95% confidence interval, −0.84 to −0.19), reported fewer symptoms of dissociation 6 months after the intervention (mean difference, −3.66; 95% confidence interval, −6.58 to −0.74), and reported better quality of life immediately following the intervention (mean difference, 0.11; 95% confidence interval, 0.03 to 0.19). Fewer youths in the intervention group than in the control group had received recent mental health therapy 6 months after the intervention according to youth report (53% vs 71%, respectively; relative risk = 0.75; 95% confidence interval, 0.57 to 0.98).Conclusions 
    A 9-month mentoring and skills group intervention for children in foster care can be implemented with fidelity and high uptake rates, resulting in improved mental health outcomes.Trial Registration 
    clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00809315