Research, Training and Technical Assistance Projects
Following is a list of GSSW's current and recently completed research, training and technical assistance projects in:
Children, Youth and Families
Denver's Village: Wrapping Families in Community Support Evaluation
Michele D. Hanna, PhD (P.I.)
Funded by a Children's Bureau Grant from the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, this project is a process and outcome evaluation of the five-year diligent recruitment grant received by the City and County of Denver. The goal of the grant is to increase the number of resource family homes (including foster, relative and adoptive) for children in the care of the Denver Department of Human Services that reflect the race, color and national origin of the children in care. The Denver program is a community-based, neighborhood, child-centered approach involving community collaboration with Denver's Family-to-Family based neighborhoods and the Denver Indian Resource Center.
The following research, training, and technical assistance projects are being conducted by GSSW's Erna and Brad Butler Institute for Families, a national resource for building professionalism and promoting effective practices and policies for child and family programs:
1. National Workforce Institute
Cathryn Potter, PhD (P.I.)
Funded by the Children's Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children, Youth and Families, this 5-year project involves serving as the evaluation partner for a national child welfare leadership and workforce development project. As evaluator, the Butler Institute serves on the management team for the National Workforce Institute (Katharine Briar Lawson, PI), takes part in collaborative knowledge management and assessment activities, and serves as the evaluation team for all NWI activities.
2. Mountains and Plains Child Welfare Implementation Center
Cathryn Potter, PhD (P.I.)
Funded by the Children's Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children, Youth and Families, this 5-year project is a collaborative effort with the University of Texas Arlington (Joan Rycraft, P.I.) and the Native American Training Institute. Butler Institute program managers is leading Region Eight technical assistance projects, and our evaluation team serves as evaluator for the project. The implementation center will award some $5 million to states and tribes for system change initiatives.
3. Western Workforce: A Comprehensive Workforce Intervention
Cathryn Potter, PhD (P.I.)
Funded by the Children's Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children, Youth and Families, this 5-year project will create and test a workforce assessment and intervention model focused on organizational health in three western sites, urban, rural and tribal. The project also embeds a child welfare stipend program in each of the sites.
4. Colorado Child Welfare Research and Training Project
Cathryn Potter, PhD (P.I.)
These eight contracts with the State of Colorado Department of Human Services provide technical assistance and professional development to Colorado's child welfare system, including all Core Training to Colorado child welfare workers, advanced training to child welfare and substance abuse professionals, advanced training for human services managers, collaborative research with state and county agencies and child welfare MSW stipends.
5. Jefferson County Service-Integration Project Evaluation
Cathryn Potter, PhD (P.I.)
Funded by the Children's Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children, Youth and Families, this 3-year project evaluates the effectiveness of a service integration intervention focusing on child welfare and TANF services. The project includes a random assignment study of a parent-mentoring program, and development and testing of manualized intervention protocols aimed at reducing minority over-representation in child welfare services. The Butler Institute for Families serves as the independent evaluator.
6. Adoptive Families Initiative Evaluation: Colorado Association of Adoptive Families
Cathryn Potter, PhD (P.I.)
Funded by the Children's Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children, Youth and Families, this 5-year federal demonstration project develops and implements a series of interventions aimed at preventing adoption disruption in 20 Colorado counties. The Butler Institute for Families serves as the independent evaluator.
7. Western Regional Recruitment and Retention Project
Cathryn Potter, PhD (P.I.)
Funded by the Children's Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children, Youth and Families, this 5-year project will develop, implement and evaluate technical assistance for a regional state consortium project focusing on increasing retention of child welfare workers and developing models for effective recruitment of high quality child welfare personnel.
8. Marriage and Healthy Relationship Development Project
Cathryn Potter, PhD (P.I.)
Funded by the Children's Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children, Youth and Families, this 5-year project will develop, implement and evaluate technical assistance for a regional state consortium project focusing on developing and implementing training for child welfare workers in the use of evidence-based relationship enhancement strategies with child welfare clients.
9. Nevada Child Welfare Training System Development
Cathryn Potter, PhD (P.I.)
Funded by the State of Nevada Department of Social Services, this large, multifaceted project provides broad technical assistance, policy and program consultation, and curriculum development to Nevadas child welfare system.
10. Effective Child Welfare Practice with Hispanic Families
Cathryn Potter, PhD (P.I.)
Funded by the Children's Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children, Youth and Families, this collaboration with the University of Kansas develops training for several western states. The Butler Institute for Families also serves as the project evaluator.
11. Child Welfare System of Care Initiative
Cathryn Potter, PhD (P.I.)
Funded by the Children's Bureau of the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children, Youth and Families, this 5-year federal demonstration project focuses on development of a system of care in child welfare services. The Butler Institute for Families serves as the independent evaluator for Years 2-5.
12. Evaluating the Mental Health Needs of Homeless Youth
Cathryn Potter, PhD and N. Eugene Walls, PhD (Co-P.I.s)
This project, funded by the University of Denver's Public Good Committee, uses a standardized assessment protocol to examine the prevalence of mental health disorders among youth served in Denver's Urban Peak Youth Shelter.
13. Trainer's Boot Camp
Cathryn Potter, PhD (P.I.)
Funded by the Washington Department of Social Services, Indiana Department of Social Services, and participant fees, this is an intensive, weeklong, professional development program for trainers, developed by Butler Institute for Families staff members. This set of contracts brought the Trainer's Boot Camp to Washington, DC, and the Indiana and Colorado child welfare systems.
14. Wisconsin Child Welfare System Evaluation
Cathryn Potter, PhD (P.I.)
Funded by the State of Wisconsin, this set of contracts provides needs assessment, training system evaluation, curriculum development, training, and trainer development for child welfare workers and supervisors.
15. MVP (Most Valuable Player) Incentive Program Evaluation
Cathryn Potter, PhD (P.I.)
This project is funded by the SPIN (Supporting People in Need) Foundation. SPIN and the Jeffco Youth Project are working with TANF eligible students in Jefferson High School and their families to pilot an incentive program to improve academic skills, increase motivation and give recognition to students who may not have performed well in the past. Students receive monetary incentives for meeting program expectations for attendance, after school activity, credit accumulation, CSAP attendance and proficiency, and other requirements. The Butler Institute for Families will evaluate the program's impact on student participant outcomes.
16. Community Infant Program Evaluation
Cathryn Potter, PhD (P.I.)
The Community Infant Program (CIP) is a cooperative effort of the Boulder Departments of Mental Health, Social Services and the Health Department. CIP is a preventive-intervention service that aims to improve parent-child health outcomes, promote positive parent-child relationships and prevent child abuse and neglect. The program's evaluation includes the examination of multiple family outcomes including family functioning, maternal and child mental and physical health outcomes, child social-emotional developmental outcomes, social service involvement, home environment, parenting, family support and resource use. This project is funded by the Boulder Department of Mental Health.
17. Casey Family Programs Safety Assessment Project
Cathryn Potter, PhD (P.I.)
Funded by Casey Family Programs, this project provides program development support to Casey's national safety assessment initiative.
18. Indiana Child Welfare Supervision
Cathryn Potter, PhD (P.I.)
Funded by the State of Indiana Department of Social Services, this project provides technical assistance, training, and training of trainers for the State of Indiana as they redesign their supervisor training system in child welfare.
19. Weld County Data Project
Cathryn Potter, PhD (P.I.)
Funded by Weld County, Colorado, this project provides technical assistance to the county as it develops their child welfare supervisor's ability to effectively use state administrative data.
20. Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS)
Cathryn Potter, PhD (P.I.)
This collaboration with the University of Denver's IAALS provides data analysis support to national research initiatives focused on the federal court system.
Youth Development and Adolescent Behavior
Youth Empowerment and Leadership Development
Inna Altschul, PhD (P.I.)
Funded by the University of Denver's Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning Public Good Fund, this project uses a positive youth development approach to focus on youth leadership development at three public housing communities. The project provides a group of youth with the tools for active participation in developing programs at a youth center through the Bridge Project, and evaluates the outcomes of this effort.
Evaluation of "The Leadership Zone": Examining effectiveness and processes of youth empowerment and leadership development in a school setting
Inna Altschul, PhD (P.I.)
As part of this project, an empowerment and leadership development program is implemented and evaluated in a school setting. The goals of the intervention are to build youth's leadership skills, enhancing their identities and sense of self-efficacy in the process, and leading to an improvement in youth's in-school behavioral and academic outcomes. The scholarly goals of this project are: (1) to assess the effectiveness of an empowerment intervention focused on leadership within a school setting; and (2) to examine the underlying mechanisms contributing to the effectiveness of such interventions with low-income youth. This project is funded by University of Denver's Professional Research Opportunities for Faculty (PROF) Fund.
Assessing Suicidal Intentions of Troubled Youth
Stacey Freedenthal, PhD (P.I.)
The measurement of suicidal intent is crucial for effective interventions and valid research, yet the predominant measure of suicidal intent has shown mixed results with adolescents. This study uses quantitative and qualitative measures with adolescent psychiatric inpatients to better understand how to assess suicidal intent in young people. The study is a collaboration with John Peterson, M.D., the chief psychiatrist of Denver Health and Hospitals' adolescent inpatient psychiatric unit. This project is funded by University of Denver's Professional Research Opportunities for Faculty (PROF) Fund.
Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program Evaluation
Stacey Freedenthal, PhD (P.I.)
This project is funded by State of Colorado, Office of Suicide Prevention. The Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program has been used in schools and communities throughout the United States, but little research has examined its effectiveness at increasing student help-seeking. This evaluation assessed youth's rates of formal and informal help-seeking both before and six months after the introduction of Yellow Ribbon at an area high school. Additionally, teachers' reports of student help-seeking were compared between the experimental school and a nearby control school. The study did not find that students sought help in higher numbers after Yellow Ribbon was introduced, but important limitations existed, including a low rate of student participation and a high rate of attrition.
Empowering Disadvantaged and High-Risk Youth: A Community-University Partnership in Public Housing Communities
Jeff Jenson, PhD (P.I.)
This project is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health. A risk and resilience framework for understanding and preventing adolescent problem behaviors is being used to implement a university-community partnership aimed at providing academic enrichment, personal development and wellness, cultural enrichment, and career development activities and interventions to 75 high-risk youth and parents residing in three public housing communities in Denver. Longitudinal data collection assessing the effects of project interventions on academic performance and other behavioral outcomes began in 2006.
Evaluating the Mental Health Needs of Homeless Youth
N. Eugene Walls, PhD, Cathryn Potter, PhD and Jennifer Martin, MSW (co-P.I.s)
Funded by the University of Denver's Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning, this community-based, collaborative project with Urban Peak explores patterns of the mental health issues and needs among homeless youth and young adults. Components of the project include examination of the role of trauma and victimization on mental health diagnoses, differences in mental health patterns among socio-demographically different subgroups of homeless youth and young adults, and the role of services in the lives of the population.
Gerontology
PROGRESS: Providing Real Opportunities for Gero-rich Experience in Social Work Services
Colleen J. Reed, PhD (P.I.)
This project is funded by a Practicum Partnership Project Grant from the John A. Hartford Foundation, administered through the Social Work Leadership Institute at the New York Academy of Medicine. The central aims of this project are to generate interest among social work students in working with older adults and their families by increasing their exposure to this area of practice through a specialized training stipend program. Selected through a rigorous application process, students participate in rotation model competency-based geriatric social work field education. This program offers students rich educational experiences in the field, as well as through integrative seminars and intensive workshops related to geriatric social work.
Geriatric Social Work: Building Capacity with Evidence-based Practice
Colleen J. Reed, PhD (P.I.)
This project is funded by the Colorado Health Foundation in Denver, Colorado. Nationally, the older adult population grows at unprecedented rates, while social services for older adults are often lacking and/or overburdened. The aims of this project are to forge dynamic partnerships between the university and service providers, to engage our community partners (providers of services to older adults and their families), to increase the understanding of evidence-based practices, and to foster and support the capacity in organizations by connecting existing services with the body of evidence and envisioning intervention innovations.
Neighborhoods and Communities
Making Connections-Denver: Community-Based Research in Low-Income Neighborhoods
Daniel Brisson, PhD, and Jean East, PhD (co-P.I.s)
Funded by the Piton Foundation and part of a multi-city initiative sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, this project is a comprehensive community change initiative aimed at improving the lives of families and children by improving conditions and services in low-income urban neighborhoods. As part of this project, the investigators trained resident researchers to conduct a self-evaluation of their program. The investigators also consulted on study design and implementation.
The Evaluation of Denver Housing Authority's Park Avenue HOPE VI Revitalization Project
William Cloud, PhD (P.I.)
Funded by the Denver Housing Authority, this project replaces public housing with newly constructed and expanded units of mixed income housing. The study is a five-year process and outcome program evaluation that examines the impact of the project on the lives of former/returning residents of the public housing units and the lives of those in the surrounding community.
Models of Women's Community Organizing
Jean East, PhD (P.I.)
Funded by an internal GSSW award, this qualitative study examines models of community organizing used by women's organizations in Colorado and other western states.
International Development
Human Security in Northern Kenya: Assessment, Capacity-Building and Operational Tools to Promote Sustainable Livelihoods and Conflict Management
James Herbert Williams, PhD, Jack Jones, PhD, and Asfaw Kumssa, PhD, United Nations Centre for Regional Development (co-P.I.s)
This project is funded by the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work and the United Nations Centre for Regional Development. The work of this project on human insecurity in North Rift and North East Kenya aims to reduce vulnerability and increase human security of communities affected by conflict in Northern Kenya by building the capacity of the community and empowering vulnerable groups affected by conflict through identification and promotion of sustainable livelihood and conflict management strategies. The rationale for capacity building and conflict management is to empower people through exchange of information, promotion of knowledge and building of skills for improved livelihoods and to enable the local community to deal with conflicts in a sustainable manner. Through identification and promotion of both sustainable livelihood and conflict management strategies, the project attempt to address the two aspects of human security: freedom from fear (conflict) and freedom from want (creation of sustainable livelihoods).
Education
Technology and Social Work Education
Walter LaMendola, PhD, and Jean East, PhD (co-P.I.s)
Funded by the University of Denver's Center for Teaching and Learning, this two-year project includes three studies on technology integration in social work education. The first study is a mixed method study that includes a survey and focus groups of Deans at social work schools in the United States to get leadership and organizational perspectives on technology in social work. The second study engaged a faculty development process as a learning community with six GSSW faculty and two staff. The third study involved the same group in the delivery of social work classes using web based technologies. Study outcomes will be completed in early 2009 and will be used to inform GSSW and the Council on Social Work Education.
Culturally Educated Questioning as a Multicultural Skill
N. Eugene Walls, PhD, and Nicole Nicotera, PhD (co-P.I.s)
This project is funded by the University of Denver's Center for Teaching and Learning. Based on the concept of culturally educated questioning, this project examines the efficacy of educational modules in assisting students in learning and using culturally educated questioning.