CARHD is proud to announce the receipt of a competitive state planning minigrant under CARHD faculty PI Dr. Kari Adamsons, in partnership with CT Dept. of Social Services. The purpose of the minigrant is to conduct focus groups with fathers across the state of Connecticut who receive services from state agencies, to assess areas of strength and areas of need and to inform the state Fatherhood Commission’s strategic plan. Funding is provided by the  Fatherhood Research and Practice Network (FRPN). FRPN is a six-year project (2013-2019) awarded to the Temple University School of Social Work and the Center for Policy Research, by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (#90PR0006). Its purpose is to build the evidence base in the fatherhood field, disseminate research findings on fatherhood programs and promote the use of research-based practices by fatherhood programs. Congratulations Dr. Adamsons!

CARHD received seed funding from UConn’s Collaboratory on School and Child Health for a 2019 project titled “Truancy Prevention Efforts to Interrupt the School to Prison Pipeline”. This joint project between Beth Russell (CARHD) and Tammy Freeberg (The Village for Families and Children) will study program services and outcomes related to truancy prevention to reduce juvenile justice involvement in Hartford given recent policy changes per PA 16 147. Their project centers on informing future intervention development through stakeholder interviews with program staff, participants/families, and policymakers.

The Center for Applied Research in Human Development is the new home to the Parent Education Program, a court-ordered parenting class for divorcing parents. During monthly classes, parents learn how to buffer the impact of divorce on children, as well as techniques for keeping communication child-focused and positive after separation occurs. For more information, please contact the program coordinator, Dr. Beth Russell (beth.russell@uconn.edu).