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BOCYF Projects
Frontiers of Research on Children, Youth, and Families
The Board on Children, Youth, and Families recognized nine young and mid-career scholars whose research on children, youth, and families warrants the attention of national decision makers. As awardees of the Frontiers of Research on Children, Youth, and Families initiative, the scholars presented their research at a May 7 symposium at the National Academy of Sciences.
The Frontiers of Research on Children, Youth, and Families program sought to advance the careers of the next generation of scholars whose research is both exemplary on scientific grounds and highly relevant to policy. The topic of the 1998 symposium was "The Development of Human Potential in the 21st Century: Opportunities at the Intersection of Families and Communities." The scholars were selected in a competitive process by the Frontiers steering committee. Each researcher or research team selected to present at the symposium received a $2,000 stipend.
The scholars and their research:
- David Arnold, Assistant Professor, Psychology, University of Massachusetts: Promoting Academic Success and Preventing Disruptive Behavior Disorders: Community Partnership
- Gretchen Butera, Assistant Professor, Department of Special Education, West Virginia University, and Van Dempsey, Associate Professor, Educational Foundations, West Virginia University: West Virginian Children, Families, Communities, and Energy Express (a summer intervention program for Appalachian children and families)
- Margaret O'Brien Caughy, Assistant Scientist, Department of Maternal and Child Health, Johns Hopkins University; Patricia O'Campo, Associate Professor, Department of Maternal and Child Health, Johns Hopkins University; and Anne Brodsky, Assistant Professor, Psychology, University of Maryland: Social Indicators for Perinatal Research
- Michael Cunningham, Assistant Professor, Psychology, African & African Diaspora Studies Program, Tulane University: African-American Adolescent Males' Perceptions of Their Community Resources and Constraints: A Longitudinal Analysis
- Rachel Gordon, Research Scientist, Alfred P. Sloan Center on Parents, Children, and Work, NORC and University of Chicago, and Research Scientist, Department of Psychiatry, University of Chicago: Multigenerational Coresidence and Welfare Policy
- Sudhir Venkatesh, Junior Fellow, Society of Fellows, Harvard University: Toward Community-Based Interventions Into Street Gang Activity
Eight other scholars received honorable mentions:
- Lisa Berlin, Research Scientist, Center for Children and Families, Teachers College, Columbia University: Welfare-to-Work Policies in Child-Mother Relationships in Poor, African-American Teenage Mothers and Their Preschool Children
- Cleopatra Howard Caldwell, Assistant Professor, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Co-Associate Director, Program for Research on Black Americans, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan: Health Consequences of Family Transitions to Early Childbearing
- Constance Flanagan, Associate Professor, Agricultural and Extension Education, Penn State University: Families, Communities, and the Social Contract in America
- Neena Malik, Assistant Director, Dependency Court Intervention Program for Family Violence, Miami; Sharon Morris Aaron, Advocacy Coordinator, Dependency Court Intervention Program for Family Violence, Miami; and Gregory Lee Lecklitner, Project Director, Dependency Court Intervention Program for Family Violence, Miami: Dependency Court Intervention Program
- Arthur Reynolds, Associate Professor, School of Social Work and Department of Child and Family Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison: Child-Parent Centers: Longitudinal Effects of an Extended Intervention for Children and Families at Risk
- Donald Unger, Associate Professor, Department of Individual and Family Studies, University of Delaware: Promoting Positive Family-Professional Partnerships in Early Intervention Programs: Single Parents and Their Children in Low-Income Communities
The key goals of the Frontiers symposium were to:
- bring outstanding policy-relevant research conducted by young- and mid-career scientists to the attention of national, state, and local decision makers,
- foster an active exchange among academics, scientists, policy makers, and practitioners, and
- advance the careers of the next generation of scholars who conduct research that can inform future policy deliberations
The May 1998 symposium featured discussions among researchers, policy makers, and community-level practitioners. A small volume synthesizing the research and its links to policy concerns was produced in March 1999.
Planning support for the Frontiers project was provided by the Smith-Richardson Foundation. Continuing support came from the Foundation for Child Development and the Ford Foundation.
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