Mental HealthSS-SENCT07400497
Family Foundations for Special Education Trial
A study testing Family Foundations for Special Education in people with Mental Health, run by Penn State University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to assess the program's impact on parent self-efficacy and co-parental support around (a) accessing health and educational services and (b) parenting for co-parents of children with disabilities entering the Special Education system before their first Individualized Education Program… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Mental Health
- What is being tested?
- Family Foundations for Special Education
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 110 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 12 Jan 2025to 1 Jul 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Parents/parental figures who are over the age of 18, and are involved in childrearing together.
- Coparenting a child being evaluated for special education services
- Has not yet had their first IEP meeting.
- The target child must attend a Philadelphia elementary school (K-8).
- The target child must be the first child in the family to go through the IEP process.
- Co-parents must be fluent in English.
Who cannot join
None listed.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Public Health Management Corporation
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19102
About this study
Official title: Family Foundations for Special Education
The goal of this clinical trial is to assess the program's impact on parent self-efficacy and co-parental support around (a) accessing health and educational services and (b) parenting for co-parents of children with disabilities entering the Special Education system before their first Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does the program improve co-parenting support and coordination and parent efficacy in accessing services for and parenting their child? Does the program improve parent mental health, service access, engagement, and adherence? Does the program improve parenting quality? Does the program improve child adjustment (mental and behavioral health, academic engagement)? Researchers will compare pretest and posttest questionnaires from Treatment Group A with Control Group B to see if the program improves parent and child well-being, co-parenting relations, relations with service providers, ability to access services and meaningfully participate in IEP and other meetings.
Participants will:
- Complete pre- and post-test questionnaires
- Treatment Group A will participate in 6 learning sessions, each 1 hour to 1½ hour long, over a 6-8 week period
- Conditions
- Mental Health
- Being tested
- Family Foundations for Special Education
- Keywords
- parenting education, children with disabilities, children with challenging behaviors, parenting relationships, Coparenting, Special Education
- Medical subject headings
- Psychological Well-Being
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Family Foundations for Special EducationBehavioural
Also called FF-SE
Families in the intervention group receive the new enhanced supports and participate in six private virtual learning sessions focused on understanding the special education system, improving communication, and enhancing collaboration as co-parents in the IEP process. Each session lasts 60-90 minutes and will be scheduled weekly according to the participants preferred schedule, including evenings and weekends. A workbook with supporting documents for each session will be sent to each participant prior to the start of the sessions.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Group A | Experimental | Group A will receive FF-SE in six virtual learning sessions to receive information on the special education system and methods to improve communications and working together as co-parents to enhance their IEP experience. The duration of each session will be between 1 to 1 ½ hour long and will be scheduled weekly according to the participants preferred scheduled. A workbook with supporting documents for each session will be mailed and/or emailed to each participant prior to the start of the sessions. Receives: Behavioral: Family Foundations for Special Education |
| Group B | No intervention | Group B will have access to existing standard supports available to families entering the special education system. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Coparenting Relationship Questionnaire
A validated, parent-report questionnaire on key dimensions of the coparenting relationship.
Measured: From enrollment to the last learning session for intervention group, approximately 2 months after enrollment for the control group.
Parenting Sense of Competence Scale
Parent-reported, 17 item scale (Gibaud-Wallston \& Wandersman, 1978) assessing parent self-efficacy in accessing services for their child. Higher scores reflect higher degree of sense of competence.
Measured: From pretest to two months post-intervention
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted10 Feb 2026
- Study start12 Jan 2025
- Primary completion31 May 2026
- Study completion1 Jul 2026
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Mental HealthStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Penn State UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 110 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Penn State University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Public Health Management Corporation, William Penn Foundation
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Mark Feinberg, Penn State University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07400497
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- STUDY00025916
- Other IDs
- 218-23
- Acronym
- SS-SE
- Status last verified
- Sep 2026
- First submitted
- 17 Jan 2026
- Last updated
- 15 Sep 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 15 Sep 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Family Foundations for Special Education
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07400497
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- SS-SE / STUDY00025916
- Conditions
- Mental Health
- Keywords
- parenting education, children with disabilities, children with challenging behaviors, parenting relationships, Coparenting, Special Education
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 110 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Penn State UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Public Health Management Corporation, William Penn Foundation
- Study start
- 12 Jan 2025 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 31 May 2026 (actual)
- Study completion
- 1 Jul 2026 (actual)
- First posted
- 10 Feb 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of this clinical trial is to assess the program's impact on parent self-efficacy and co-parental support around (a) accessing health and educational services and (b) parenting for co-parents of children with disabilities entering the Special Education system before their first Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does the program improve co-parenting support and coordination and parent efficacy in accessing services for and parenting their child? Does the program improve parent mental health, service access, engagement, and adherence? Does the program improve parenting quality? Does the program improve child adjustment (mental and behavioral health, academic engagement)? Researchers will compare pretest and posttest questionnaires from Treatment Group A with Control Group B to see if the program improves parent and child well-being, co-parenting relations, relations with service providers, ability to access services and meaningfully participate in IEP and other meetings.
Participants will:
- Complete pre- and post-test questionnaires
- Treatment Group A will participate in 6 learning sessions, each 1 hour to 1½ hour long, over a 6-8 week period
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Group A | Experimental | Behavioral: Family Foundations for Special EducationGroup A will receive FF-SE in six virtual learning sessions to receive information on the special education system and methods to improve communications and working together as co-parents to enhance their IEP experience. The duration of each session will be between 1 to 1 ½ hour long and will be scheduled weekly according to the participants preferred scheduled. A workbook with supporting documents for each session will be mailed and/or emailed to each participant prior to the start of the sessions. |
| Group B | No intervention | –Group B will have access to existing standard supports available to families entering the special education system. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (6 listed)
- Parents/parental figures who are over the age of 18, and are involved in childrearing together.
- Coparenting a child being evaluated for special education services
- Has not yet had their first IEP meeting.
- The target child must attend a Philadelphia elementary school (K-8).
- The target child must be the first child in the family to go through the IEP process.
Key exclusion criteria (0 listed)
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Family Foundations for Special EducationAlso: FF-SEFamilies in the intervention group receive the new enhanced supports and participate in six private virtual learning sessions focused on understanding the special education system, improving communication, and enhancing collaboration as co-parents in the IEP process. Each session lasts 60-90 minutes and will be scheduled weekly according to the participants preferred schedule, including evenings and weekends. A workbook with supporting documents for each session will be sent to each participant prior to the start of the sessions. | Behavioural | Group A |
Primary outcome
Coparenting Relationship Questionnaire
Time frame: From enrollment to the last learning session for intervention group, approximately 2 months after enrollment for the control group.
A validated, parent-report questionnaire on key dimensions of the coparenting relationship.
Parenting Sense of Competence Scale
Time frame: From pretest to two months post-intervention
Parent-reported, 17 item scale (Gibaud-Wallston \& Wandersman, 1978) assessing parent self-efficacy in accessing services for their child. Higher scores reflect higher degree of sense of competence.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 15 Sep 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
Related trials for Mental Health
Not yet recruiting
Effect of Stress Ball Use During Femoral Arterial Sheath Removal After Coronary Angiography
Femoral Arterial Sheath Removal, Stress Ball
Not yet recruiting
Preventive and Personalized Digital Emotion Regulation Skills Intervention to Reduce Depression and Anxiety in Youths With Adverse Childhood Experiences
Adverse Childhood Experience, Depression / Major Depressive Disorder
Recruiting
Effect of a Brief Daily Digital Meditation on Well-Being in US Young Adults (BEGIN II)
Mental Health and General Well-being
Recruiting
NightWare and Cardiovascular Health in Women With PTSD
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Cardiovascular Diseases
Active, not recruiting
Intervention to Address Disparate Mental Health Consequences of COVID-19 Pandemic on Latinx and African Newcomers
Mental Health Issue, Mental Health Disorder
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Family Foundations for Special Education in people with Mental Health, run by Penn State University at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 6 inclusion and 0 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 15 Sep 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Coparenting Relationship Questionnaire (time frame: From enrollment to the last learning session for intervention group, approximately 2 months after enrollment for the control group.). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 15 Sep 2026.