Age of Child: 17

Pathways to Success is an intensive, youth-driven case management model with the long-term goal of preventing homelessness among youth with foster care experience. The model is built around case managers, called Navigators, who are trained in a case management approach called Engaging Youth in a Coach-Like Way. In this approach, Navigators develop a coaching relationship to support youth. Youth direct the intervention by setting goals related to the outcome areas of housing, education, employment, health and well-being, and permanent connections. Meanwhile, Navigators deploy an individualized services array tailored to each youth’s needs, strengths, and goals. In addition to Engaging Youth in a Coach-like Way, Navigators use a variety of tools and resources to support youth in these domains, such as flex funds and referrals to relevant resources.

HOP-C is a critical time intervention that was developed in response to research outlining the psychosocial challenges faced by youth in the transition out of homelessness. HOP-C involves wraparound supports (e.g., intensive case management, specialized mental health support, and peer workers) that youth can engage with flexibly throughout their time in the project. HOP-C workers also coordinate with other professionals/agencies (e.g., existing case workers, housing workers, employment workers, etc.) to provide individualized support to each youth. Furthermore, peer workers organize and facilitate social outings and drop-ins for youth. The desired outcomes of this program relate to maintaining stable housing, pursuing/maintaining school/employment, improving mental health outcomes and promoting greater well-being and quality of life.

PreVenture^® is a prevention and early intervention program for youth aged 12 to 18 years. The program offers brief, workshops that teach personality-specific cognitive-behavioral skills to youth to promote mental health and reduce the risk of substance use.

PreVenture^® aims to promote self-efficacy and cognitive-behavioral skills among youth to help them cope with the numerous developmental challenges that many young people face, such as academic stress, peer pressure, interpersonal conflict, and identity development. This personalized approach aims to empower young people to build resilience and develop effective coping strategies to help them better manage their personality style. The program is delivered in two 90-minute personality-focused workshops (either online or in-person) either in a school or community setting and involves group and individual exercises, is manual-based, but guided by a trained facilitator.

The Be Strong Families’ (BSF) Parent Café Program is designed to provide a space for parents and caregivers to engage in facilitated, peer-driven discussions that foster self-reflection and strengthen protective factors for families. The program is built around the Strengthening Families Protective/Promotive Factors Framework and focuses on building connections between parents, promoting resilience, and developing strategies for addressing the challenges parents face. The Parent Café model is flexible and can be implemented in various settings, including schools, community organizations, and child welfare systems. Facilitators lead discussions, offer resources, and guide parents through topics that enhance parenting skills, create safer home environments, and support positive child outcomes.

EEG Neurofeedback is a type of biofeedback therapy (also known as EEG Biofeedback) that involves monitoring and regulating brain activity to improve cognitive function, emotional regulation, and overall well-being. It is a noninvasive therapy that helps individuals train their brain to function more efficiently. EEG Neurofeedback is based on the principle that the human brain can adapt and change, a concept known as neuroplasticity. By using technology that provides real-time visual and auditory feedback, individuals ideally learn to regulate their brain activity.

NTDC, the comprehensive no-cost curriculum, is designed to tackle separation, loss, grief, and trauma in adoption and foster care. This cutting-edge resource offers adoptive, kinship, and foster parents flexible education that aims to empower them over the course of time and at the right time. Training is provided both as a synchronous classroom-based learning experience and through asynchronous “Right-Time” online modules that are available at any time for NTDC participants to build further knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy. While this training originated from key concepts to support children with intense service needs, it is designed to be used in any out-of-home placement, including with kin or adoptive caregivers.

Note: NTDC has also adapted to address the unique needs of indigenous communities; however, this separate manualized version is not part of this program review.

The Developmental Trauma and Attachment Program (DTAP) provides a comprehensive approach for children facing the lasting effects of trauma and attachment disruption. Through a fully integrated model combining attachment-focused therapy with trauma-informed practices, DTAP is designed to address foundational needs for trust, emotional regulation, and resilience.

DTAP also prioritizes caregiver involvement, creating a context for healing that is designed to strengthen the family system and foster lasting change.

EQ2: Empowering Staff to Build Trauma-Informed Communities for Youth is a 6-module, workforce self-regulation and support program that integrates cognitive-behavioral skills, mindfulness approaches, and restorative practices including Circles to support the delivery of trauma-informed care. The program is designed to builds staff’s awareness of their triggers, build the self-regulation skills that underlie the capacity to co-regulate with youth, cultivate reparative relationships, and model self-regulation skills for youth. The program also increases staff knowledge of trauma, including its impact on brain structure, behavior, and the brain’s neurobiological capacity to heal through relationships with regulated adults. The content of EQ2 is primarily disseminated and processed through restorative-based Circles which reduce the hierarchical structure implicit in most trainings, amplify the transmission of relational knowledge that many direct care staff possess, increase feelings of belongingness, and provide an opportunity for staff’s experiences to be acknowledged and validated, thereby reducing the impact of secondary traumatic stress, burnout, and turnover. Mindfulness training builds staff’s capacity to identify triggers earlier in the stress-response cycle, while also building distress tolerance and acceptance skills shown to be associated with trauma-responsive behaviors.

Wysa is an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven mental health support program designed to provide anonymous, 24/7 access to mental health care through conversational AI that guides users through exercises, including cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques. The program is structured to help individuals manage symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other common mental health challenges.

Wysa is designed to create a supportive and nonjudgmental environment, offering personalized tools such as thought reframing, relaxation exercises, and goal setting to promote emotional well-being. The desired outcome after the usage of the app is the reduction of symptomatology linked to these common mental health concerns, and the improvement of well-being and resilience.

moodgym provides training in cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) to prevent and manage symptoms of depression and anxiety. It was designed for, and in collaboration with, young people aged 16-25 years, and is delivered in five sequential modules which include quizzes, interactive exercises, and workbooks