Building Stronger Families

The Interdisciplinary Research Center on Children and Families (IRC) is grounded in the lived experiences of children, caregivers and service providers, ensuring its work reflects the realities of the communities it serves. Through research, collaboration and a shared commitment to child safety, permanency and well-being, the IRC brings together partners to develop practical, evidence-informed solutions that support children and families.

Together, this work helps build stronger, more connected communities and a brighter future shaped by the voices of those we serve.

Public Library Virtual Storytimes: Meeting School Readiness and Community Needs through a Socially Distant Approach

The University of Kentucky, in partnership with the Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy, is investigating school readiness supports within public library virtual storytime programs (VSTs) and exploring the needs and expectations of stakeholder groups in relation to VSTs.

Preparing Schools to Address Childhood Trauma

This pilot study examines whether a newly developed online training increases teachers and other school personnel’s ability to recognize trauma symptoms among students, and to make referrals to an evidence-based intervention, if warranted.

Fostering Inter-Disciplinary Research-Practice Partnerships to Enhance Father’s Capacities to Promote Child Well-being

This project relies upon the lived experiences of fathers and system providers to identify the practices, policies, and procedures (3Ps) that sustain racial inequities in fathers’ participation in service provision and effective co-equal parenting.

Crossover Youth Project

Utilizing integrated, de-identified data from child serving systems of care (i.e., child welfare, juvenile justice, behavioral health, and Medicaid claims data), this project seeks to explore the experiences of single and multi-system users.

“At the IRC, we believe that true progress begins when we listen to and learn from the lived experiences of children, families, and those who support them.”

Dr. Jay Miller Dean, College of Social Work

Let’s Work Together

Have a project in mind? Fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch.

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