Project Summary
Anecdotally, we know from more than 100 family organizations nationally that trained parents providing emotional support and assistance with navigating systems produces positive youth and family outcomes. However, rigorous research to measure the effectiveness of parent peer support on clinical, functional, and service outcomes for children/youth with mental health challenges and related family outcomes is lacking. The Family Research Partnership, a family-driven and multidisciplinary stakeholder group facilitated by Family-Run Executive Director Leadership Association (FREDLA), was established and expanded during Tiers I and II of the Pipeline to Proposal project. The partnership comprises 21 family leaders/caregivers from 16 states, seven state/national stakeholders (state/national behavioral health entities, managed care organizations), and 10 researchers from renowned centers of excellence in children’s mental health (University of Washington, NYU Langone Medical Center, University of Maryland School of Social Work, Georgetown University, Westat, InquisitHealth, Children’s Hospital of Colorado). With family and stakeholder input, comparative effectiveness research (CER) ideas generated in Tier I were refined in Tier II as CER questions and a CER study design proposal. Efforts in Tier III will focus on development of a patient-centered CER project that addresses outcomes improvement for children and youth with serious emotional, behavioral, and co-occurring disorders and their families, through parent peer support. During the project period, the partnership intends to transition to a co-leadership model with a focused implementation committee; develop Letters of Intent with components of a full research proposal; and report, disseminate, and inform the community of the partnership’s effort, research proposals, and future research plans.