Official websites use .gov

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS

A lock ( 🔒 ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Need Help

CASA and FostrSpace: Systems delivery of digital substance use prevention tools to foster youth

Award Number: R33DA059860
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 03/01/2025
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2029

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

CASA and FostrSpace: Systems delivery of digital substance use prevention tools to foster youth - PROJECT SUMMARY Youth in foster care have documented higher rates of substance use and unmet behavioral health needs than youth who are not involved in the child welfare system. Social determinants of health (e.g., child maltreatment, community violence) have been consistently identified as driving increased likelihood of substance use among foster youth and may also explain why those who use substances also experience high rates of co-occurring mental health needs. Access to substance use prevention interventions is sorely limited in part due to inadequate linkage between child welfare and behavioral health serving systems but also due to other factors such as stigma, lack of intervention options that include peers with lived experiences and lack of intervention tailoring to unique needs. Behavioral intervention technologies (BITs) hold great promise to increase access to youth substance use prevention interventions. Participatory technology co-design approaches allow for foster youth to tailor technology interventions to their relevant multiple social and contextual drivers of health vulnerability and inherently reduce stigma and build youth engagement because peers with lived experience drive BIT design and content. FostrSpace is a BIT co-designed with foster youth that provides tailored substance use prevention resources, services navigation, direct peer supports and direct in-app access to evidence-based substance use and mental health (SU/MH) interventions. To promote successful uptake and utilization of stand-alone technology for underserved populations such as Fostrspace, however, research indicates additional systems and structural level intervention is required. Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) are community volunteers who support and advocate for the needs of abused and/or neglected children and who hold promise as facilitators for foster youth SU/MH services referrals. Evidence-based telementoring and training models such as Extension for Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) have been highlighted as a crucial strategy for expanding SU/MH services access. This study, in partnership with California CASA programs, will study ECHO's effectiveness as an implementation strategy to facilitate FostrSpace referrals from CASA volunteers and assess FostrSpace's reach and effectiveness in preventing SU among foster youth. RE- AIM (Reach Effectiveness-Adoption Implementation Maintenance) and PRISM (Practical Robust Implementation and Sustainability Model) frameworks guide aims. The R61 phase (Planning/Exploratory) will include peer and CASA co-design meetings for implementation strategy (ECHO) and intervention (FostrSpace) adaptation, open trial and R33 trial planning. The Hybrid II R33 trial mixed-methods design will test effectiveness of FostrSpace in preventing progression of youth substance use and effectiveness of ECHO as implementation strategy to increase reach of FostrSpace through CASA programs using a cluster randomized controlled trial design comparing ECHO-FostrSpace to standard referral practice with 400 youth and 400 CASA volunteers across 10 CASA programs.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $972,814 )
2026	2026	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, THE	1855 FOLSOM ST STE 425	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94103	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	3	2/18/2026	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$972,814
														Subtotal = $972,814

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $973,442 )
2025	2025	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, THE	1855 FOLSOM ST STE 425	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	94103	SAN FRANCISCO	USA	Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs	000	2	5/8/2025	EXTENSION WITH OR WITHOUT FUNDS	$973,442
														Subtotal = $973,442

Grand Total All Awards = $1,946,256

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

CASA and FostrSpace: Systems delivery of digital substance use prevention tools to foster youth

Award Number: R33DA059860

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 03/01/2025

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2029

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer