An interventional study of Chicago Parent Program for Foster Care and Usual Care in Behavior Problem and Parenting, sponsored by Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati. Active, not recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 2 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-30.
Sponsored by Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
The primary objective of this study is to test the effects of an evidence-based prevention intervention (CPP) adapted for foster and kinship caregivers of young children (FC; foster care) on caregiver competence and child behavior problems for children in foster care compared with an active comparator group that receives standard supports through the child welfare and healthcare systems (i.e., usual care).
The purpose of the study is to evaluate the impact of an evidence-based parenting program, The Chicago Parent Program (CPP) adapted for foster and kinship caregivers of young children (CPP-FC). A parallel, two-arm, randomized controlled trial of 300 caregiver-youth dyads will be conducted, comparing the impact of CPP-FC versus a usual care control on caregivers and foster youth. Quantitative and qualitative data about CPP-FC will be collected from foster and kinship caregivers and through observations of caregivers and youth. The findings from this study will demonstrate whether CPP-FC is effective in reducing behavior problems in young foster children and whether that contributes to reduced caregiver stress, increased caregiver confidence, increased positive parenting behavior, and longer lengths of time that children remain with foster and kinship caregivers, preventing unnecessary moves from one caregiver to another and improving child wellbeing.
1,740 studies on the registry are indexed under Mental Disorders; 348 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 300 is above the median of 100 across 1,301 interventional studies indexed under Mental Disorders.
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Of its 57 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 31 (54%) have results posted.
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The Chicago Parent Program for Foster Care (CPP-FC) is a caregiver-directed prevention program to strengthen parenting skills and confidence in foster and kinship caregivers and prevent or reduce behavior problems in children 2-8 years old. CPP-FC was designed to specifically meet the unique needs of children ages 2-8 who are placed with foster and kinship caregivers. Participants assigned to CPP-FC will receive CPP-FC and the services typically offered from the county, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Comprehensive Health Evaluations for Cincinnati's Kids (CHECK) clinic, and for licensed caregivers, their licensing agency.
Behavioral: Chicago Parent Program for Foster Care
Usual Care control will receive standard care offered from the county, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Comprehensive Health Evaluations for Cincinnati's Kids (CHECK) clinic, and for licensed caregivers, their licensing agency.
Other: Usual Care
CPP-FC consists of 12 two-hour sessions delivered virtually by two trained group leaders over 16 weeks (11 concurrent weeks, 1 one-month booster) in a group-based format. Foster and kinship caregivers of young children are systematically taught parenting skills through group discussions, videotaped vignettes, structured role play and weekly homework assignments.
Also known as: CPP-FC, Caregivers on Point
The Usual Care control will receive services from the county, CHECK clinic, and for licensed caregivers, their licensing agency per usual care. Caregivers receive training and support from their county and/or private licensing agency, children are referred to community services by the caseworker when behaviors emerge, and support from behavioral health specialists is available when caregivers request them.
Change in Parental Stress Scale
The Parental Stress Scale is an 18-item questionnaire that assesses parental stress relating to parental sensitivity to the child, child behavior, and quality of the caregiver-child relationship. Items are rated on a 5-point scale, ranging from 1 ("Strongly disagree") to 5 ("Strongly agree"). Some items are reverse scored. Items are summed to yield a total score, with higher scores indicating higher levels of parental stress.
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months (mid-point), and 6 months (follow-up)
Change in Perceived Stress Scale
The Perceived Stress Scale is a 14-item self-report measure of how unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloaded individuals find their life circumstances. All items are rated on a 5-point scale, ranging from 0 ("Never") to 4 ("very often"). Some items are reverse scored. Responses are summed to yield a total score (range 0-56), with higher scores indicating greater perceived stress.
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months (mid-point), and 6 months (follow-up)
The Child Adjustment & Parent Efficacy Scale, Total Intensity subscale
The Child Adjustment \& Parent Efficacy Scale, Total Intensity subscale is a 27-item measure of child behavior and emotional problems. Item responses are rated on a 4-point scale, ranging from 0 ("Not true of my child at all") to 3 ("True of my child very much"/"Most of the time"). Twenty-four items are summed to yield a Behavior Problems score (range 0-72), and three items are summed to yield an Emotional Problems score (range 0-9). Behavioral and Emotional Problems scores can be summed for a Total Intensity score (range 0-81). Higher scores indicate a higher level of problems.
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months (mid-point), and 6 months (follow-up)
The Child Adjustment & Parent Efficacy Scale, Parenting Efficacy subscale
The Child Adjustment \& Parent Efficacy Scale, Parenting Efficacy subscale is a 19-item measure of parental self-efficacy. Item responses are rated on a 10-point scale, with responses ranging from 1 ("Certain I can't do it") to 10 ("Certain I can do it"). Items are summed to yield a total efficacy score, with higher scores indicating higher self-efficacy.
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months (mid-point), and 6 months (follow-up)
Change in Parenting Sense of Competence Scale
The Parenting Sense of Competence Scale is a 17-item questionnaire that measures overall parenting satisfaction and competence. Items are measured on a 6-point scale, with responses ranging from 1 ("Strongly disagree") to 6 ("Strongly agree"). Some items are reverse scored. Items are summed to yield two subscales: parental satisfaction and parental self-efficacy. Higher scores indicate higher levels of parental satisfaction and parental self-efficacy.
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months (mid-point), and 6 months (follow-up)
Change in Parenting Behaviors and Dimensions Questionnaire
The Parenting Behaviors and Dimensions Questionnaire is a 33-item measure of contemporary parenting behavior that measures six core dimensions of parenting: Emotional Warmth, Punitive Discipline, Anxious Intrusiveness, Autonomy Support, Permissive Discipline, and Democratic Discipline. Items are rated on a 6-point scale ranging from 1 ("Never") to 7 ("Always"). Higher scores indicate higher levels of the parenting dimension.
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months (mid-point), and 6 months (follow-up)
Change in child behavior
The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire is a 25-item questionnaire that assesses child behavior. Items are rated on a 3-point scale and responses range from 0 ("Not true") to 2 ("Certainly true"). Some items are reverse scored. Items are summed to yield 5 subscales: Emotional Problems, Conduct Problems, Hyperactivity, Peer Problems, and Prosocial. A total score is calculated using the sum of all the subscales, except Prosocial. Higher scores in each subscale and the total score indicate more child behavior problems.
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months (mid-point), and 6 months (follow-up)
Change in child self-regulation
A 5-minute caregiver-child behavioral observation will be recorded and subsequently coded by two trained coordinators and the PI using is the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System Comprehensive Manual for Research and Training 4th edition (DPICS-IV).91 The observation will involve a free-play period and a caregiver-directed clean-up from the play activity. The recording will be coded for caregiver positive statements (acknowledgment, description, unlabeled praise, labeled praise, reflection), statements to avoid (questions, indirect commands, negative talk), and direct commands. Child compliance, non-compliance, and instances where the child did not have the opportunity to comply with caregiver commands are also coded.
Time frame: Baseline and 3 months
Number of children experiencing placement change due to child behavior problems.
The child welfare administrative record will be reviewed to assess number of child participants experiencing a placement change due to child behavior problems.
Time frame: 12 months
Plan to share: Yes — Consistent with the open science movement and with the directive of clinicaltrials.gov to include a data sharing plan in submissions, we will have the following data sharing policy: we will share with other investigators (1) all individual participant data after deidentification, and (2) study management documents (protocol, statistical analysis plan, consent form, analytic code, data dictionary).
Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan, Informed consent form, Analytic code
Time frame: These will be made available three months after publication of the primary article and ending five years after publication.
Access criteria: Those requesting data will be required to submit a proposal to the PI. This will be reviewed by the investigative team for methodological soundness and scientific merit. Proposals approved by the PI will be shared with the legal department at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and prosecuting attorneys and directors of children's services at Hamilton, Butler, and Montgomery counties for approval. Once approved by all parties, a data use agreement will be established with the outside investigator before data is shared. This plan is consistent with guidelines developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (Taichman,D S, et. al, 2017) and established memoranda of understanding between Cincinnati Children's and children's services agencies for research involving children in foster and kinship care.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is active, not recruiting, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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