Session: Democratizing Voice In Intervention Science Among Transition-Age Youth: Reimagining Responses to Documented Need (Society for Social Work and Research 31st Annual Conference)

Background and purpose: Social work has documented the needs of youth involved with public systems (e.g., child welfare, mental health, housing services), which was necessary but not sufficient. Recently, scholars have shifted their attention to developing and testing solutions to improve the health, wellbeing and thriving among youth. This symposium includes four studies, funded by NIH and large foundations, that together reimagine services and interventions, while presenting state-of-art-methods (i.e., ADAPT-ITT, advisory boards, guiding values) and outcome data from intervention studies developed in partnership with those closest to the problem(s).

Methods and Results: The symposium papers all use a combination of intervention development and adaptation methods, coupled with a focus on varying health, wellbeing and thriving outcomes to move the field forward in the provision of efficacious services for youth.

“Putting the Cart Before the Horse: A Qualitative Validation Study of the Cascade-of-Care Framework in Youth and Young Adult Mental Health” uses focus groups and individual interviews with youth (Mean age=17), providers and administrators from two urban, large behavioral health organizations (N=21). Authors examine if and how the HIV treatment cascade can be adapted for youth mental health; presenting an innovative framework that grounds the following three papers along the continuum of youth mental health services, exemplifying a new model centering efficiency and impact.

“Engagement of Targeted Mechanisms in a Peer-Led Service Enhancement Intervention for Young People Exiting Foster Care” focuses on improving coping and mental health help-seeking. Authors will report on the development and outcomes of a federally-funded pilot trial (N=46, Mean age=20.8) of Strengthening Youth Networks and Coping (SYNC), a peer-led intervention developed with an advisory board from the deployment context. The study embeds experimental therapeutics and uses growth curve modeling to examine target mechanisms, and short- and long-term mental health and service use outcomes.

“Feasibility, Acceptability and Implementation Outcomes for Charge Up!: A Critical Time Intervention for Young Adults Transitioning from Homelessness to Supported Housing" focuses on the development and testing of an adapted intervention for young adults from a transitional housing/rapid re-housing program. Authors report on the use of ADAPT-ITT to develop Charge Up!, coupled with results from a randomized feasibility pilot (n=52). Quantitative (e.g., ANCOVA) and qualitative (e.g., semi-structured interviews) data were analyzed focused on feasibility, acceptability, and implementation outcomes.

“Being able to be heard is what everyone wants”: Co-Creating Transformative Change Through Participatory Action using Photovoice” reports outcomes from an innovative project that brought together young adult advisors and inter-disciplinary professionals to develop and launch a trauma-informed photovoice program. Authors report on the qualitative study which used in-depth interviews with youth, advisory board members, coaches and administrators (N=11) to build knowledge on the process and outcomes of the program, while highlighting the value of prioritizing community-based partnerships guided by participatory action.

Conclusion and Implications: Studies highlight how those closest to the problems are critical to developing the solutions. Together, the studies highlight the importance of taking a developmental perspective, while also highlighting innovation and cultural context. Discussion will focus on policy, practice, and research implications.