Publications & Projects

The primary aim of the study is to investigate the effects of involvement with the general protective services (GPS) system on subsequent contact with GPS or CPS and subsequent out-of-home placement; and to assess the effects of post-GPS services on child behavioral health and well-being outcomes. Pennsylvania’s GPS system represents an alternative or differential response to incidents of maltreatment that do not rise to the level of child abuse, as defined by State statute – primarily comprised of non-serious injury and neglect incidents. The study will leverage a range of existing data sources to examine outcomes within and across the child welfare system and other child-serving systems.

This is a 30-year longitudinal study of the consequences of child sexual abuse on female development. Now in its 8th wave of data collection via a R01 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), we are currently assessing this cohort (and their offspring) in terms of physical health outcomes, intergenerational transmission, and the identification of mechanisms of resilience. This research is also funded through a R01 from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to assess the cohort’s daily stress-coping and premature cognitive aging.

This project involves multiple statewide initiatives (Connecticut and Rhode Island) to improve the capacity of child welfare systems to provide trauma-informed care to children and families involved in services. Three separate demonstration grants (funded by ACF and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network) addressed specific populations using comparable methods. Key features of the initiatives included work force development efforts, development and deployment of trauma screening tools and procedures, and dissemination of evidence based treatments (including TF-CBT; Trauma Systems Therapy; and Attachment, Regulation, and Competency (ARC)). Project aims include examining the impact of these efforts at the child/family, workforce, and system levels through a mix of clinical outcome, survey, and administrative data.

The Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative is a comprehensive approach to sexual abuse prevention in 5 counties across Pennsylvania in a highly unique State/University partnership.  This initiative includes the coordination of evidence-based child sexual abuse prevention programs for adults in the community, school children, and at-risk parents. Programs will be delivered to 5% of the adult population (~71,000), 100% of second-graders (~17,000), and 100% of at-risk child welfare-involved parents. The aims are to empirically demonstrate that this coordinated effort (1) changes knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of participants, (2) impacts rates of child sexual abuse, and (3) raises public awareness at the population level. The ultimate goal is to create a sustainable model of sexual abuse prevention that can be used at a systems level in PA and across the US.

This community-based intervention study examines the effects of wraparound and other community-based services for children and families who have recently been involved in a child protective services (CPS) investigation. Wraparound is a family-centered, team-based planning process to provide individualized community-based services and natural supports for children and families. The study investigates 6- and 12-month effects of the intervention on child, caregiver, and family well-being, as well as processes resulting in outcomes. A parallel study uses administrative data to investigate child safety outcomes in a multi-year statewide cohort. The research study was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF).

A major goal of this project is the development of a testable trauma-sensitive curriculum that can serve as an important classroom-level intervention by providing educators with the necessary knowledge and skills to address the learning needs of young children who have experienced trauma.

The Parenting Young Children Project is an NICHD-funded K01 award of 150 families designed to understand how parents and preschoolers regulate their behaviors, emotions, and physiology with one another while tackling challenges, like solving a difficult problem or puzzle together. We examine how moment-to-moment patterns and coregulation of heart rate, expression of positive and negative emotions, and behaviors such as discipline and compliance act as risk and protective factors for child maltreatment and associated problems. This research is designed to identify malleable relationship targets for prevention and intervention for families at risk for child maltreatment.

The PAIR project is a longitudinal study of the impact of trauma on the emotional and cognitive functioning of preschool-age youth and their families. The prospective design of the project includes ongoing assessment of trauma exposure in both youth and the parents as well as assessment of developmental health over time.