This applicant is requesting five years of funding through the KO1 program to develop her skills in preventive intervention research, and to augment her training in working with youth in foster care. The ultimate goal is to have the expertise to design and implement an effective intervention program for preadolescent youth entering out-of-home care, to reduce problem behaviors, and to foster pro-social development. The applicant has prior training in the areas of child maltreatment, risk and protective factors in child development, and adolescent high-risk behaviors. Proposed training in advanced statistical analyses, public health and epidemiology, intervention research, economic analyses, and specialized training in foster care research will augment these areas of expertise.

The research plan consists of four components, the first of which consists of additional secondary analyses of the data set that the candidate analyzed for her dissertation research. The second component involves analyses of demographic and placement characteristics of Denver foster care youth through the Denver Department of Human Services' databases. The third component involves conducting focus groups with various stakeholders to ascertain primary intervention needs; results of these will guide the fourth component, which involves pilot testing a preventive intervention for youth in foster care.

K01MH001972

2000-09-01

2006-08-31