Recruiting

Observational Study

Sponsor:

Ohio State University

Code:

NCT07278427

Conditions

Substance Use Disorder (SUD)

Rural Health

Family Resilience

Child Maltreatment

Child Well-beiing

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Ohio START (Ohio Sobriety, Treatment, and Reducing Trauma)

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this observational study is to learn about the roles played by parental activity spaces and social networks in reducing parental substance use and promoting child and family health outcomes in the context of Ohio START (Sobriety, Treatment, and Reducing Trauma) for families in rural areas. This study will investigate if substance use treatment service referrals and family peer mentoring services provided by Ohio START lead to positive changes in parental activity spaces and social networks, and if these positive changes lead to better child and family outcomes. The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Does having behavioral health services (referred by Ohio START workers) close to where parents spend their time help with substance use recovery and child health?
  • Does peer mentor support through Ohio START help parents build stronger social connections and family resilience, and does this lead to better long-term family health?
  • Do these associations differ in rural areas compared to urban areas?

Participants will:

  • Answer survey questions about their substance use, parenting, child health, and family well-being across three waves (Wave 1: when they enroll in the study, Wave 2: 6-month follow-up, and Wave 3: 12-month follow-up)
  • Share information about places they go regularly (such as work, stores, and healthcare visits)
  • Share information about people in their support network

Conditions

Substance Use Disorder (SUD)

Rural Health

Family Resilience

Child Maltreatment

Child Well-beiing

Study ID

NCT07278427

Start date

May 21, 2026

Status verified date

Jul, 2026

Completion date

Aug 1, 2030

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Feb 29, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • age 18 or older
  • who score 3 or higher on the substance use screening tool (UNCOPE)

Study Design

Enrollment

400 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Health Services Research

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Parents receiving Ohio START services

Parents who have entered the child welfare system due to co-occurring parental substance use and child maltreatment and who are currently enrolled in Ohio START (Ohio Sobriety, Treatment, and Reducing Trauma). The study is conducted in the context of Ohio START, a children-services-led initiative and evidence-informed intervention model currently operating in 57 counties in the state of Ohio. If both parents from the same family receive the Ohio START intervention, both are eligible to participate.

Interventions

Ohio START (Ohio Sobriety, Treatment, and Reducing Trauma)

Ohio START launched in 2017 in response to the opioid epidemic and is led by the Public Children Services Association of Ohio (PASCO). Ohio START integrates child welfare and substance use treatment systems to enhance access to treatment for parents who come into the child welfare system with addictions. Ohio START capitalizes on collaboration between the child welfare system and behavioral health providers in order to reduce parent wait times for treatment for referrals, increase parent engagement and retention in treatment, and enhance coordination of resources and support for parents and children. Another key aspect of START is the use of family peer mentors as a social network intervention. Parents are paired with family peer mentors who, through weekly visits, support participating families and enhance coordination of resources. Family peer mentors are required to have a minimum of a weekly face-to-face visit with parents for 90 days.

Primary outcome measure

  • Parental substance use severity [ Time Frame: Baseline, 6 months, and 12 months ]
  • Child psychosocial and behavioral health [ Time Frame: Baseline, 6 months, and 12 months ]
  • Child maltreatment [ Time Frame: Baseline, 6 months, and 12 months ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Susan Yoon, PhD

614-292-3289yoon.538@osu.edu

Elinam Dellor, PhD

614-292-3085dellor.1@osu.edu

Locations

The Ohio State University

Recruiting

Columbus, Ohio, United States, 43210

Contacts

Susan Yoon, PhD

614-292-3289yoon.538@osu.edu

Elinam Dellor, PhD

614-292-3085dellor.1@osu.edu

More Information

Sponsor

Ohio State University

Last update posted

Jul 22, 2026

Last verified

Jul, 2026

Keywords

  • Substance use disorder
  • Child abuse and neglect
  • Rural health
  • Child welfare services
  • Low socioeconomic status
  • Rurality
  • Longitudinal study
  • Prospective study
  • Family resilience
  • Social network
  • Activity spaces
  • Child maltreatment
  • Parental substance use
  • Family peer mentors
  • Social networks
  • Rural families
  • Ohio START
  • Child well-being
  • Substance use treatment services
  • Family health
  • The START model

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Ohio State University on 2026-07-22.