Overview

Early in our history, Northwest Media was very successful at obtaining National Institutes of Health (NIH) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant awards. These competitive federal grants are awarded to small companies in the US to carry out “innovative research or research and development (R/R&D) that has the potential for commercialization and public benefit.”

Our first SBIR grant, in 2001, funded a pilot project to build a multimedia course (titled Anger Outbursts) and to perform a pre- and posttest research study of the course using intervention and control groups. Results from this study showed significant increases in parents’ knowledge about children’s anger problems and confidence in parenting children with such problems, as well as high satisfaction with the course. Because of the success of that pilot, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at NIH funded a larger project, which became the start of FosterParentCollege.com. For the full 3-year project, we designed and built the first version of the web-based learning management system for agencies, along with several interactive courses for parents. The effectiveness of each course was studied, which added to our knowledge about web-based delivery of self-paced courses. That project’s final study of our website delivery was conducted with the California Community College System. An article on the pilot study appeared in Social Work Research in 2005, and results of the final study were published in Children and Youth Services Review in 2006.

Over the years, with additional funding provided through other SBIR grants, NWM developed a number of interactive multimedia products, mainly in the areas of life-skills training for teens and training for foster, adoptive, and kinship caregivers. Every grant-funded product created by Northwest Media underwent an evaluation study, using a pretest-posttest research design with random assignment of participants to treatment and control/comparison groups, which allowed us to determine the product’s effectiveness. In addition, every study assessed participants’ satisfaction with the product being evaluated.

In 2015, Northwest Media completed all grants and shifted to becoming exclusively self-funded through state and agency contracts. However, our interest in researching our courses and our approach to learning continues. Our last study, in 2019, attempted to determine, among other things, whether the type of device used to take our online Problematic Sexual Behaviors workshop (desktop, laptop, cell phone, or tablet) impacted learning. Results of that study were inconclusive.

Grants Awarded

From 2001 through 2015, Northwest Media received twelve SBIR grants to develop online training for foster, adoptive, and kinship caregivers. The products developed from these grants formed the basis for FosterParentCollege.com, which continues to grow and thrive.

At the same time, from 2000 to 2015, we received seven SBIR grants to develop life-skills training for teens. These projects became the basis for the website Vstreet.com, which ran its course and closed in 2018.

Publications and Reports

Journal Articles & Book Chapters

Foster, Adoptive, and Kinship Care

White, L., Delaney, R., Pacifici, C., Nelson, C., Dickinson, S. L., & Golzarri-Arroyo, L. (2019). Understanding and parenting children’s noncompliant behavior: The efficacy of an online training workshop for resource parents. Children and Youth Services Review, 99, 246-256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.01.045

White, L., Delaney, R., Pacifici, C., Nelson, C., Whitkin, J., Lovejoy, M., & Keefer Smalley, B. (2016). Efficacy of blended preservice training for resource parents. Child Welfare, 93, 6, 45-72.

Delaney, R., Nelson, C., Pacifici, C., White, L., & Keefer Smalley, B. (2012). Web-enhanced preservice training for prospective resource parents: A randomized trial of effectiveness and user satisfaction. Journal of Social Service Research, 38, 503-514. https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2012.696416

Markman, H. J., Rhoades, G. K., Delaney, R., White, L., & Pacifici, C. (2010). Extending the reach of research-based couples interventions. In K. Hahlweg, M. Grawe-Gerber, & D. H. Baucom (Eds.), Enhancing couples: The shape of couple therapy to come (pp. 128-141). Cambridge, MA: Hogrefe.

Pacifici, C., Delaney, R., White, L., Nelson, C., & Cummings, K. (2006). Web-based training for foster, adoptive, and kinship parents. Children and Youth Services Review, 28, 1329-1343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2006.02.003

Pacifici, C., Delaney, R., White, L., Cummings, K., & Nelson, C. (2005). Foster Parent College: Interactive multimedia training for foster parents. Social Work Research, 29, 243-251. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/29.4.243

Life Skills for Teens

Klontz, B., Pacifici, C., Delaney, R., White, L., & Nelson, C. (2011). The effectiveness of an interactive multimedia psychoeducational approach to improve financial competence in at-risk youth: A pilot study. The Journal of Financial Therapy, 2, 41-67. https://doi.org/10.4148/jft.v2i2.1495

Pacifici, C., White, L., Cummings, K., & Nelson, C. (2005). Vstreet.com: A web-based community for at-risk teens. Child Welfare, 84, 25-46.

Pacifici, C., Stoolmiller, M., & Nelson, C. (2001). Evaluating a prevention program for teenagers on sexual coercion: A differential effectiveness approach. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69, 552-559. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.69.3.552

Teten, A. L., Nagayama Hall, G. C., & Pacifici, C. (2005). Validation of Acceptance of Coercive Sexual Behavior (ACSB): A multimedia measure of adolescent dating attitudes. Assessment, 12, 162-173. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191105275042

Wienrott, M. R., Riggan, M., & Frothingham, S. (1997). Reducing deviant arousal in juvenile sex offenders using vicarious sensitization. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 12, 704-728. https://doi.org/10.1177/088626097012005007

Grant-Based Final Progress Reports

Web-Based Marriage Education for Foster, Kinship, and Adoptive Couples, October 2014. Phase II Final Progress Report on Small Business Innovation Research Grant #5 R44 MD005197-04 to Northwest Media from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. [View Report]

Web-Enhanced Pre-Service Training for Foster, Adoptive, and Kinship Parents, September 2014. Phase II Final Progress Report on Small Business Innovation Research Grant #5 R44 HD054032-04 to Northwest Media from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. [View Report]

Online Training for Resource Parents of Substance-Exposed Children, February 2011. Phase I Final Progress Report on Small Business Innovation Research Grant #1 R43 DA026644-01A1 to Northwest Media from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. [View Report]

Advanced Web-Based Training for Adoptive Parents of Special Needs Children, July 2010. Phase I Final Progress Report on Small Business Innovation Research Grant #1 R43 HD056645-01 to Northwest Media from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. [View Report]

Web-Enhanced Pre-Service Training for Foster, Adoptive, and Kinship Parents, January 2009. Phase I Final Progress Report on Small Business Innovation Research Grant #1 R43 HD054032-01A1 to Northwest Media from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. [View Report]

Online Professional Training on Foster and Adoptive Care, January 2008. Phase I Final Progress Report on Small Business Innovation Research Grant #1 R43 HD047970-01A2 to Northwest Media from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. [View Report]

Web-Based Marriage Education for Foster, Kinship, and Adoptive Couples, December 2007. Phase I Final Progress Report on Small Business Innovation Research Grant #1 R43 HD053148-01 to Northwest Media from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. [View Report]

Web-Based Training Center for Foster and Adoptive Parents, August 2005. Phase II Final Progress Report on Small Business Innovation Research Grant #5 R44 HD041335-03 to Northwest Media from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. [View Report]

Web-Based Training Center for Foster and Adoptive Parents, November 2002. Phase I Final Progress Report on Small Business Innovation Research Grant #1 R43 HD041335-01 to Northwest Media from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. [View Report]

References to Northwest Media’s Publications in Articles by Others

Martins Barbosa Couto Do Carmo, E., Brazão, N., & Carvalho, J. (2024). The primary prevention of sexual violence against adolescents in school and community settings: A scoping review. The Journal of Sex Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2024.2367562

Fowler, J., Day, A., Lin, H. P., Tompkins, C., Vanderwill, L., & Cohick, S. (2023). National training and development curriculum: Does having access to online “Right-Time” training positively impact foster/adoptive parenting? Children and Youth Services Review, 155, Article 107305. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.107305

Montgomery, J. E. (2020). Culturally competent parenting: A test of web-based training for transracial foster and adoptive parents. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 46, 442–454. https://doi.org/10.1111/jmft.12401

Cooley, M. E., Newquist, J., Thompson, H. M., & Colvin, M. L. (2019). A systematic review of foster parent preservice training. Children and Youth Services Review, 107, Article 104552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104552

Kaasbøll, J., Lassemo, E., Paulsen, V., Melby, L., & Osborg, S. O. (2019). Foster parents’ needs, perceptions and satisfaction with foster parent training: A systematic literature review. Children and Youth Services Review, 101, 33–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.03.041

Schoemaker, N. K., Wentholt, W. G. M., Goemans, A., Vermeer, H. J., Juffer, F., & Alink, L. R. A. (2019). A meta-analytic review of parenting interventions in foster care and adoption. Development and Psychopathology, 32, 1149–1172. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579419000798

Strickler, A., Trunzo, A. C., & Kaelin, M. S. (2018). Treatment foster care pre-service trainings: Changes in parenting attitudes and fostering readiness. Child Youth Care Forum, 47, 61–79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-017-9418-x

Solomon, D. T., Niec, L. N., & Schoonover, C. E. (2017). The impact of foster parent training on parenting skills and child disruptive behavior: A meta-analysis. Child Maltreatment, 22, 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077559516679514

Festinger, T., & Baker, A. J. L. (2013). The quality of evaluations of foster parent training: An empirical review. Children and Youth Services Review, 35, 2147–2153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.10.009

Fair, C. D., & Vanyur, J. (2011). Sexual coercion, verbal aggression, and condom use consistency among college students. Journal of American College Health, 59, 273–280. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2010.508085

Dorsey, S., Farmer, E. M. Z., Barth, R. P., Greene, K., Reid, J., & Landsverk, J. (2008). Current status and evidence base of training for foster and treatment foster parents. Children and Youth Services Review, 30, 1403–1416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2008.04.008