Feasibility and acceptability of a family navigator program to support foster parents of youth with mental health concerns

Abstract

This pilot study assessed the acceptability and feasibility of the PROviding ACcess To InnoVative &Evidence-Based Intervention (PROACTIVE) Family Navigator Program for foster parents of children with mental health needs. Foster parents (n = 7) participated in four video conference sessions with a family navigator over the course of one month. In this study, family navigators were psychology doctoral students with mental health training. Feasibility and acceptability were measured with post-session surveys completed by family navigators and participants as well as a participant-completed survey following completion of the program. Feasibility and acceptability were both found to be excellent. Foster parents provided very positive satisfaction ratings for all aspects of the program. This pilot study provided preliminary support for the feasibility and acceptability of the PROACTIVE Family Navigator Program. With the experienced gained in this pilot work, we will design a randomized controlled trial with a fully powered sample to evaluate the efficacy of this program on building foster parent capacity to manage their child’s mental health needs.