News
NPC Completes Alaska Youth Competency Assessment and Strength-based Practices Training and Research Project
This project involved eight trainings at six juvenile justice facilities in Alaska on the Youth Competency Assessment and Strength-based Practices. Social climate survey data (using the Correctional Institutions Environment Scale [CIES]) were collected from participating sites on a voluntary basis (six sites contributed pre data and two sites contributed post data, 6 months after the training), which were summarized at the site and state levels. Results of the CIES surveys include:
- Residents had lower ratings of social climate in their facility than staff, both prior to and after the trainings
- Both residents and staff rated their facilities as having more positive social climate 6 months after the trainings than before
- On average, residents rated their facilities higher on social climate than the average of residents who use this same tool across the country
- Resident scores tended to show greater positive change over time than staff scores
Learn more about this project.
Major Research Grant Awarded to Study Oregon’s Healthy Start Program
NPC Research, in collaboration with the Oregon Commission on Children and Families, has been awarded a 5-year grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, one of only five such grants awarded nationwide. The nearly $1 million federal grant will be used to conduct a randomized study and cost-benefit analysis of child maltreatment outcomes for Oregon’s Healthy Start program, a statewide voluntary family support and parent education home visiting program for high-risk first-birth families.
Dr. Beth Green, President of NPC Research, said, “This project reflects both national interest in further rigorous research on the Healthy Families America (HFA) model and the hard work that has gone on in Oregon to provide and document a well-implemented HFA system.” Healthy Families America is an evidence-based home visiting model. Oregon is one of only six states in the nation that meets the high standards for full accreditation as a multi-site state system from HFA.
The study will look at the impact of Healthy Start on documented incidents of child maltreatment and will conduct a detailed cost-benefit study of the program. The study’s results could significantly advance the current debate about the efficacy of the home visitation model, particularly in terms of child abuse outcomes. It will also be the first detailed cost-analysis of child welfare and child maltreatment program costs, which will provide policymakers with measureable cost benefits of Oregon’s Healthy Start program.
Dick Withnell, the new chairman of the Oregon Commission on Children and Families, noted that “Healthy Start has been the most successful program Oregon has in reducing child abuse. Our most recent research shows that Healthy Start children are two and a half times less likely to become victims of child abuse.”
Martha Brooks, State Director of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, said, “Our law enforcement members are pleased that Oregon will again be in the forefront of research showing that home visiting can improve families’ lives, reduce maltreatment, and reduce crime."NPC President Presents at Child Abuse Prevention Conference in the UK
Beth Green, President of NPC Research, recently gave two talks at the Congress of the British Association for the Study and Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, at Swansea University, South Wales, United Kingdom. Dr. Green gave one presentation with Dr. Judith Harwin (Brunel University, London), who is the lead evaluator of the Family Drug and Alcohol Court, the first family treatment drug court (FTDC) in the UK; Dr. Green had consulted on the evaluation. They presented on Family Treatment Drug Courts in the US: An Overview of Current Research and Implications for Practice. She also presented at a workshop on Strategies for Creating Successful Evaluations.
Dr. Green also attended a London meeting at the Nuffield Foundation that focused on “Early Learnings from the Family Drug and Alcohol Court." NPC served as a consultant to this first-ever FTDC in the UK. The meeting was attended by more than 75 local policymakers, program administrators, and academics from around England. Dr. Green presented on the results of NPC’s evaluations of six Family Treatment Drug Courts in the US.
Please click on the links above to view the presentations.
Beth Green Is Appointed President, Other Leadership Changes Announced
We are pleased to announce that Beth Green, Ph.D., has been appointed President of NPC Research. Dr. Green, pictured, has been NPC’s Vice President for the past 3 years, and has been a Senior Research Associate with NPC for over a decade. Dr. Green brings a lifelong commitment to the importance of producing high-quality, timely, and relevant research products useful to programs and policymakers. She is nationally recognized for her work in early childhood prevention and intervention research, and in the design and evaluation of programs to prevent and/or ameliorate child abuse and neglect. Dr. Green is looking forward to maintaining an active research portfolio while moving into NPC’s top leadership position.
In addition, Michael Finigan, Ph.D., has taken on the roles of Director of Policy Research and Director of Development. Dr. Finigan, who served as NPC President until June 2009, will maintain his position as Chairman of the Board. Senior Research Associates Juliette Mackin, Ph.D., and Shannon Carey, Ph.D., also begin new roles, Dr. Mackin as Vice President of Training and Technical Assistance, and Dr. Carey as Vice President of Development. Sonia Worcel, M.A., M.P.P., was appointed Vice President of Operations, and she will continue her role as Grants Manager. Veronica Roth-Finigan has been appointed Vice President of Finance, and she will continue her role as Human Resources Manager. Learn more about these and other NPC staff>
