Geenen, S., Powers, L. E., Powers, J., Cunningham, M., McMahon, L., Nelson, M., ... Research Consortium to Increase the Success of Youth in Foster Care (2013). Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 36(2), 84-95.
Reviewed: November 2021
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
School drop out |
TAKE CHARGE vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
7.00 |
5.00 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
School drop out |
TAKE CHARGE vs. Business as usual |
9 Months |
Full sample;
|
10.00 |
17.00 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Child Behavior Checklist: Anxious-Depressed Subscale |
TAKE CHARGE vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
55.33 |
60.43 |
Yes |
|
|
|
|
Youth Self-Report: Anxious-Depressed Subscale |
TAKE CHARGE vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
53.60 |
56.19 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Child Behavior Checklist: Withdrawn-Depressed Subscale |
TAKE CHARGE vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
58.89 |
62.36 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Child Behavior Checklist: Somatic Complaints Subscale |
TAKE CHARGE vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
57.84 |
60.70 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Teacher Report Form: Somatic Complaints Subscale |
TAKE CHARGE vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
54.98 |
55.89 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Teacher Report Form: Anxious-Depressed Subscale |
TAKE CHARGE vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
57.62 |
58.10 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Teacher Report Form: Withdrawn-Depressed Subscale |
TAKE CHARGE vs. Business as usual |
0 Days |
Full sample;
|
58.05 |
57.39 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Child Behavior Checklist: Somatic Complaints Subscale |
TAKE CHARGE vs. Business as usual |
9 Months |
Full sample;
|
55.56 |
60.00 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Child Behavior Checklist: Anxious-Depressed Subscale |
TAKE CHARGE vs. Business as usual |
9 Months |
Full sample;
|
56.20 |
59.00 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Child Behavior Checklist: Withdrawn-Depressed Subscale |
TAKE CHARGE vs. Business as usual |
9 Months |
Full sample;
|
58.23 |
61.19 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Teacher Report Form: Somatic Complaints Subscale |
TAKE CHARGE vs. Business as usual |
9 Months |
Full sample;
|
55.20 |
56.10 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Youth Self-Report: Anxious-Depressed Subscale |
TAKE CHARGE vs. Business as usual |
9 Months |
Full sample;
|
54.09 |
54.61 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Teacher Report Form: Withdrawn-Depressed Subscale |
TAKE CHARGE vs. Business as usual |
9 Months |
Full sample;
|
57.57 |
57.61 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Teacher Report Form: Anxious-Depressed Subscale |
TAKE CHARGE vs. Business as usual |
9 Months |
Full sample;
|
59.22 |
59.00 |
No |
-- | ||
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
| Asian | 1% | |
| Black | 29% | |
| Native American | 7% | |
| Other or unknown | 13% | |
| White | 50% |
| Hispanic | 7% | |
| Not Hispanic or Latino | 94% |
The study appears to have been conducted in the Pacific Northwest (i.e., Oregon), however the location is not specifically mentioned by the authors. The study included youth in foster care who were receiving special education services from public schools in an urban school district. Students were in ninth, tenth, or eleventh grade.
On average, the students were 15 years old, with slightly more males (54%) than females (46%). The majority (82%) were in non-relative foster care. Approximately one-third of the students attended school in an alternative setting due to emotional, behavioral, or attendance issues. Over one-third of the participating students experienced physical (38%) or sexual abuse (33%).
The TAKE CHARGE intervention included two components: (1) individualized coaching to aid students in boosting self-determination skills so that they can achieve their educational goals, and to encourage them to attend educational planning meetings; (2) group mentoring provided by foster care alumni who had completed high school and were either working or in college. The intervention lasted approximately 9 months, with coaches and youth typically meeting weekly for 60 to 90 minutes. Students were also invited to participate in workshops (three in total).
The students in the comparison group received business-as-usual services including general and special education classes, services, interaction with special education case managers, individualized educational planning, and extracurricular activities.
Intervention coaches completed formal training and observation, and attended weekly meetings to discuss their work with youth. The coaches also completed weekly logs to document their activities with students.
In the case of multiple manuscripts that report on one study, the WWC selects one manuscript as the primary citation and lists other manuscripts that describe the study as additional sources.
Geenen, S., & Powers, L. E. (2006). Are we ignoring youths with disabilities in foster care? An examination of their school performance. Social work, 51(3), 233-241.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
The WWC may review studies for multiple purposes, including different reports and re-reviews using updated standards. Each WWC review of this study is listed in the dropdown. Details on any review may be accessed by making a selection from the drop down list.
Evidence Tier
The Department of Education’s evidence tiers. For more information, please see the WWC Glossary entry for evidence tiers.
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