The Institute for Families (IFF) at Rutgers School of Social Work advances the professional practices and knowledge base of individuals and organizations dedicated to improving the lives of children and families. As the School’s largest center, IFF delivers a $35 million portfolio of contracts delivering training, technical assistance, and applied research and evaluation services. IFF works to:
- Advance New Jersey’s child welfare and human service systems through workforce partnerships that lead to more equitable, improved childhood experiences;
- educate child and family-serving professionals through innovative learning experiences that build evidence-based practices in their everyday work with youth and their caregivers; and
- demonstrate practices that impact and improve childhood outcomes through applied research and evaluation methods.
Read on for updates on just some of the many recent activities taking place within IFF.
Highlighted Program Updates
The Research and Evaluation Team finished the contract year ending on June 30 with a refresh of the New Jersey Child Welfare Data Hub using data provided by Child Protection and Permanency (CP&P) and Children’s System of Care (CSOC), two divisions of the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF): https://njchilddata.rutgers.edu. The update included a Q1 data refresh for existing reports as well as several new metrics on the left panel of the CSOC Data Map: https://njchilddata.rutgers.edu/map?r=csoc. The team compiled and validated the data for the map from the Census Bureau and other sources, perfected the variable definitions on several pages, and implemented the web changes.
IFF Staff Accolades
Lorin Tredinnick's dissertation, "The Influence of Campus Climate Factors on Student-Athlete Awareness of Sexual Assault Policies and Resources," was featured in the Research Showcase at the National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals (N4A) Virtual Convention from June 21-24.
