University of Calgary

Links and Resources

 

[a special thank to Berenice Monna for having compiled this list and descriptions]

University-based research centers on families and children

  • University of Pennsylvania / Macarthur Foundation research network on the transition to adulthood

    The Research Network on the Transitions to Adulthood examines the
    changing nature of early adulthood, and the policies, programs, and
    institutions that support young people as they move into adulthood.
    Significant cultural, economic, and demographic changes have occurred in the span of a few generations, and these changes are challenging youths’ psychological and social development. Some are adapting well, but many others are floundering as they prepare to leave home, finish school, find jobs, and start families.

    The network is both documenting these cultural and social hifts, and exploring how families, government, and social institutions are shaping the course of young adult’s development. The Network is funded by the John D. and Katherine T. MacArthur Foundation and chaired by University of Pennsylvania sociologist Frank Furstenberg.

  • Columbia University, New York, The Clearinghouse on International Developments in Child, Youth and Family Policies :

    The Clearinghouse on International Developments in Child, Youth and
    Family Policies provides cross-national, comparative information about the policies, programs, benefits and services available in the advanced industrialized countries to address child, youth, and family needs. Coverage focuses on 23 advanced industrialized countries.

  • Columbia University, New York, National Center for Children in Poverty :

    The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) is a nonprofit,
    research and policy organization at Columbia University that began with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Ford
    Foundation. The Center’s focus is on identifying and promoting strategies that prevent child poverty in the United States and that
    improve the lives of low-income children and families. NCCP has
    developed a national reputation for policy analysis, academic research, and demographic statistics. They promote the broader understanding that a family’s financial situation affects how children develop, their readiness to succeed in school, and ultimately, their ability to create better lives for themselves.

  • Columbia University, New York, The Institute for Child and Family Policy

    The Institute for Child and Family Policy (ICFP) at Columbia University was initiated in 1999 to meet the urgent need for systematic exchange among policy researchers and policy shapers from different disciplines. The mission of the Institute is to identify and address fundamental and intractable problems in the formulation, analysis, implementation, and evaluation of social policies toward children, youth, and families. The Institute’s approach is to integrate both a developmental perspective and an international-comparative perspective into its work. One of the
    major endeavors of the Institute is the Cross National Studies Research Program, which carries out comparative social policy research in advanced industrialized countries focusing on child and family policy.

  • McGill University, Montréal, Centre for Applied Family Studies :

    The Centre for Applied Family Studies, in the department of Social Work at McGill University, undertakes activities (such as research,
    seminars, and publications) aimed at understanding contemporary family life, enhancing social work practice with families, and seeking improved social policies for the family. The Centre’s aim is to promote and conduct interdisciplinary research on family needs, policies, and services, while contributing to the professional development of family researchers, educator and practitioners. They also offer expertise to agencies on research as well as operate the McGill Couple and Family Clinic.

  • Northwestern University, Evanston IL, Institute for Policy Research (Child, Adolescent and Family Studies):

    The Institute for Policy Research (IPR) is an interdisciplinary
    program, which studies the ways in which social programs, policies, and contexts affect the lives of families and children from birth to young adulthood. IPR research in this area includes couple dynamics and father involvement in poor families, the effects of welfare reform on children, adolescents, and their parents, how social contexts affect health and well-being, and school reform and job training.

  • Princeton University, Princeton, Center for Research on Child Well-being :

    The Center for Research on Child Wellbeing at Princeton University
    conducts research on children's health, education, income, and family structure. The Center’s aim is to promote basic research on children's wellbeing and link research to practice and public policy. Research topics include families and communications, health, education, income and inequality. One of the major projects that the Center is involved in is the Fragile Families Study, which follows a birth cohort of (mostly) unwed parents and their children over a five-year period. The study is designed to provide new information on the capabilities and relationships of unwed parents, as well as the effects of policies on family formation and child wellbeing on issues of income and inequality, including studying the effects of welfare, child support reform, and fathers' incarceration.

  • University of California at Berkeley, The Center for Child and Youth Policy

    The Center for Child and Youth Policy at U.C. Berkeley is a new
    Organized Research Unit focused on interdisciplinary research, and
    information dissemination to public policy makers at the state and
    local level. The Center brings together interdisciplinary research
    focused on children’s issues and children’s policy.

  • University of California at Berkeley, Center for Comparative Family Welfare and Poverty Research

    The Center for Comparative Family Welfare and Poverty Research focuses on income maintenance programs. The Centre examines how industrialized nations respond to the needs of working families. bullet

  • University of Guelph, Guelph, Centre for Families, Work and Well-Being

    The Centre for Families, Work and Well-Being at the University of
    Guelph is an interdisciplinary research and educational center that is undertaking to respond to dramatic changes occurring over the last decades. The Centre capitalizes on the expertise of University faculty and staff from many disciplines who work in matters relevant to individual and family well-being, the interface between work and family, and contextual factors that affect workplace productivity and community supports. The Center’s core strengths include strategic research, policy analysis and best practices development. Key projects at the Centre include: Self-employment for women (policy options that promote equality and economic opportunities), the work-life database, assessing and addressing the needs of parents of children with disabilities, evaluation of extended parental leave benefits, and benchmarking work-life initiatives in Canada. bullet

  • Université De Montréal et Université Du Québec à Montréal, Institut de recherche pour le développement social des jeunes

    L’IRDS assume les quatre fonctions suivantes : élaborer et réaliser des recherches scientifiques pertinentes et utiles pour le développement social des jeunes en mettant à contribution l’expertise universitaire et la connaissance des besoins cernés par les milieux d’intervention ; contribuer au transfert des connaissances et des expertises générées par la réalisation du programme de recherche en diffusant largement les résultats de ses recherches ; participer au développement d’une culture de recherche interdisciplinaire et multidisciplinaire dans les domaines de la jeunesse et de la prévention de la violence afin de favoriser la
    collaboration entre les milieux de pratique et les milieux universitaires ; promouvoir la formation de chercheurs et d’intervenants polyvalents dont la mission commune est le développement de connaissances et l’amélioration des pratiques. bullet

  • The University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canadian Research Institute for Social Policy

    The Canadian Research Institute for Social Policy (CRISP) in
    collaboration with other institutes such as the Organization for
    Economic Cooperation and Development, Human Resources Development
    Canada and Statistics Canada takes a multi-disciplinary approach to the research of social policy in Canada. The aim of the Institute is to improve the education and care of Canadian children and youth, while contributing to capacity-building research of child development in low income countries. CRISP conducts detailed evaluations of local, national and international policy initiatives and produces a significant number of reports for the government, research bodies and scholarly publication, in order to impact the formulation and implementation of social policy in Canada and elsewhere. Through its two research facets, basic and applied, CRISP addresses how social institutions (schools, hospitals and governments) can intervene to have a positive impact on adverse social problems. In its attempt to examine and understand human development across the life span they also show significant research on citizens with special needs.

  • Université du Québec à Montréal, Conseil de Développement de la recherche sur la Famille du Québec

    La mission du Conseil est de contribuer, par la recherche, à
    l’avancement du savoir en matière familiale et faire servir à des fins d’éducation, de formation et de perfectionnement les connaissances résultant des travaux de recherche. bullet

  • Université Du Québec à Montréal, Familles en mouvance et dynamiques intergénérationnelles

    Familles en mouvance et dynamiques intergénérationnelles, partenariat de recherche sociale, à vocation multidisciplinaire et
    multisectorielle, est financé par le Fonds québécois de recherche sur la société et la culture (FQRSC) (ancien Conseil québécois de la
    recherche sociale CQRS). Il associe des chercheurs spécialisés dans
    l’étude de la famille québécoise contemporaine ainsi que des professionnels et intervenants des secteurs gouvernemental et communautaire, tous également concernés par la problématique de la vie familiale. Il permet un transfert multidirectionnel de connaissances qui, à son tour, favorise une action collective pertinente auprès des familles. bullet

  • University of Toronto, Toronto, Bell Canada Child Welfare Research Unit

    The Bell Canada Child Welfare Research Unit (BCCWRU) at the University
    of Toronto was established to conduct and disseminate child welfare
    research and to provide training for graduate students and child
    welfare professionals. The main activities of the Unit include:
    Canadian and Ontario Incidence Studies of Reported Child Abuse and
    Neglect; Canadian child welfare outcome measurement initiative;
    Evaluation of the initial implementation of the Ontario Risk Assessment Model, and research internships for graduate students and child welfare professionals.

  • University of Toronto, Toronto, Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare/ Centre d'excellence pour la protection et le bien-être des enfants:

    The Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare (CECW) at the University of Toronto is one of five Centres of Excellence for Children's Well-being funded by Health Canada as part of the federal contribution to the National Children's Agenda. The Centre of Excellence for Child Welfare encourages collaborative projects that integrate child maltreatment prevention and interventions across a variety of sectors, including health care, education, justice and recreation. The center has 4 main functions: Fostering research, gathering and analyzing child welfare information and supporting the development of research capacity through training and consultation; disseminating information; developing policy and participating in meetings, forums and other events that promote
    policy development and link policy to research and practice; and
    forging networks.

  • University of Toronto, Toronto, Childcare Resource and Research Unit:

    The Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) focuses on research and policy resources, advancing a universal, high quality, publicly-funded, not-for-profit, inclusive system of early childhood education and care in Canada. The CRRU was established to provide public education, foster and support research, carry out research projects as well as provide communication on ECEC policy and research.

  • University of Victoria, Victoria, Center for Youth and Society :

    The Centre for Youth & Society (Y&S) at the University of
    Victoria is an interdisciplinary research centre that focuses attention directly on adolescent health and development -- within the context of the community. Y&S disseminates knowledge concerning strengths, challenges, opportunities, and problems of youth. The concerns of youth themselves and of society as a whole are identified so that programs, research, and training priorities are responsive to those concerns. The goals of the centre focus on advancing research on adolescent health and development, training specialists in research, education and health-care of adolescents, disseminating information about youth as widely as possible, and advocating for youth with policy-makers and governing bodies.

  • Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, The Partnerships for Children and Families Project

    The Partnerships for Children and Families Project at Wilfred Laurier University is a five year research project directed at understanding the lives and experiences of families and children who are served by Children's Aid Societies and children's mental health services in Southern Ontario. The aim of the project is to foster improvement in existing child welfare and children's mental health policies, delivery systems, administration and programming/interventions.

  • University of Alberta, School-Work Transitions Project

    This website is based on a series of longitudinal studies of the
    school-work transitions carried out by Harvey Krahn and Graham Lowe.
    The Edmonton School-Work Transitions Study began in 1985. This study
    has tracked the education, work, family, and community experiences of
    Edmonton high school and university graduates (the Class of 1985) for
    14 years via follow-up surveys in 1986, 1987, 1989, 1992 and 1999. The
    Alberta High School Graduate Survey focused on a new youth cohort, the
    province-wide graduating Class of 1996. Comparisons of the experiences
    of these two cohorts will enhance our understanding of how school-work
    and youth-adult transitions continue to change and of how life-course
    patterns are evolving in the 21st century.

Non-University based research centers on families and children

  • Better Beginnings, Better Futures , Kingston

    Better Beginnings, Better Futures is a longitudinal prevention policy
    research demonstration project. It is currently being implemented in 8
    communities across the province of Ontario, Canada. The Better
    Beginnings, Better Futures model is designed to prevent young children
    in low income, high risk neighborhoods from experiencing poor
    developmental outcomes, which then require expensive health, education
    and social services.

  • Campaign 2000: End Child Poverty in Canada , Toronto

    Campaign 2000 is a cross-Canada public education movement to build
    Canadian awareness and support for the 1989 all-party House of Commons
    resolution to end child poverty in Canada by the year 2000. Campaign
    2000 began in 1991 out of concern about the lack of government progress
    in addressing child poverty. The organization increases public
    awareness of the levels and consequences of child/family poverty by
    publishing research on the indicators of child poverty and developing
    public education resources. Campaign 2000 is involved in public and
    government consultations around the issue of child and family poverty
    and government policy.

  • Canadian Childcare Federation , Ottawa

    The Canadian Child Care Federation (CCCF) is a national non-profit
    organization whose mission is to improve the quality of child care
    services for Canadian children and families. Services and programs are
    targeted to direct service providers, child care organizations,
    educational institutions, government policy makers and public opinion
    leaders. The Federation supports initiatives that increase the skill,
    expertise and awareness of the target groups in their respective roles
    in support of improved quality of child care services. They focus on
    education to build on research that influences the child care policy
    framework in order to improve the quality of child care services.

  • Canadian Institute of Child Health , Ottawa

    The Canadian Institute of Child Health focuses on monitoring children’s
    health, educating professionals, caregivers and policy-makers,
    advocating for legislation and policies that improve child health.
    Their five main areas of interest focus on: acting as voice for
    Canada’s children; supporting healthy pregnancy and childbirth;
    fostering healthy child development; ensuring the environment is safe
    for children; and monitoring the state of children’s health.

  • Canadian Paediatric Society , Ottawa

    The Canadian Paediatric Society is a national advocacy association
    committed to the health needs of children and youth. As a voluntary
    professional association, the CPS represents more than 2,000
    paediatricians, paediatric subspecialists, paediatric residents, and
    other child health care providers. They develop, promote and support
    health promotion and disease prevention initiatives for children and
    youth, to give them the best chance at good health.

  • Canadian Policy Research network (Family Network), Ottawa

    The Canadian Policy Research Network (Family Network) focuses on how
    various policy issues affect families. Namely research from the Family
    Network concentrates on child and family policy, Canada’s social
    architecture and ageing population, governance and social policy,
    citizenship and diversity, social cohesion, and the importance of
    “place” as a policy issue and policy “lens”. Currently the Network
    operates four different networks, where they bring together
    governments, unions, corporations, NGO’s, voluntary organizations,
    academics, and other think tanks who engage directly in the real time
    transfer of research in the areas of Family, Health, Public Involvement
    and Work.

  • The Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development , Montréal

    The Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development (CEECD) aims
    to improve knowledge of the social and emotional development of young
    children. They foster the dissemination of scientific knowledge on the
    social and emotional development of young children and the policies and
    services that influence this development through, liaison bulletins, an
    encyclopedia, multimedia CD’s and videotapes.

  • The Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement , Ottawa

    The Centre of Excellence for Youth Engagement began a scan of youth
    programs, in an attempt to identify the key features of programs and
    organizations that were successful at engaging youth. To date, over 75
    programs have been entered into their database. The Centre finds,
    describes and builds models of effective strategies for engaging youth
    in meaningful participation and making healthy decisions for healthy
    living. The Centre is committed to youth planning, executing and being
    involved on a lead basis in the design, collection, analysis, model
    building and evaluation, publication, dissemination and communication
    of the research results and products arising from the research.

  • Child & Family Canada

    Child & Family Canada is a public education website. Fifty Canadian
    non-profit organizations have come together under the banner of Child
    & Family Canada to provide quality, credible resources on children
    and families. The managing partner of the consortium is the Canadian
    Child Care Federation

  • International Council on National Youth Policy , Austria

    The International Council on National Youth Policy (ICNYP) brings
    together representatives of Governmental ministries responsible for
    youth from all UN Member-States and of world and regional
    non-governmental youth organizations in a biennial International
    Conference on National Youth Policy. The main focus of all ICNYP
    actions is to encourage and enable all stakeholders, and most
    particularly youth, to participate in all aspects of the formulation,
    implementation and evaluation of national youth policy. The ICNYP
    provides a regular series of training seminars on national youth policy
    for representatives of Governmental, Intergovernmental and
    Non-Governmental Organizations concerned with national youth policy and
    provide a resource service on national youth policy concerning funding
    sources willing and able to finance national youth policy projects.

  • Social Union / National Children's Agenda

    The Social Union initiative is the umbrella under which governments
    will concentrate their efforts to renew and modernize Canadian social
    policy. It focuses on the pan-Canadian dimension of health and social
    policy systems, the linkages between the social and economic unions,
    and the recognition that reform is best achieved in partnership among
    provinces, territories and the Government of Canada. The primary
    objective of the social union initiative is to reform and renew
    Canada's system of social services and to reassure Canadians that their
    pan-Canadian social programs are strong and secure. The Social Union’s
    main project is the National Child Benefit (NCB) initiative, which is a
    partnership among the federal, provincial and territorial governments
    and First Nations that aims to help prevent and reduce the depth of
    child poverty, support parents as they move into the labour market and
    reduce overlap and duplication of government programs.

  • Vanier Institute for the Family , Ottawa

    The Vanier Institute of the Family exists to build public understanding
    of important issues and trends critical to the well-being and healthy
    functioning of Canadian families. The goal of the Institute is to
    encourage a family perspective among policy-makers, institutions,
    service providers, employers, business executives, and others whose
    work with organizations affect the lives of Canadian families and
    encourage and promote the inherent capacity of families to help
    themselves. The Institute Collects and analyzes information on
    demographic trends, social change, and patterns of family formation and
    functioning and informs Canadians about the state of family life.

  • Child Trends , Washington DC

    Child Trends is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization
    dedicated to improving the lives of children by conducting research and
    providing science-based information to improve the decisions, programs,
    and policies that affect children and their families. In advancing its
    mission, Child Trends collects and analyzes data; conducts,
    synthesizes, and disseminates research; designs and evaluates programs;
    and develops and tests promising approaches to research in the field.

  • Kids Count , USA

    KIDS COUNT, a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, is a national
    and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the U.S.
    By providing policymakers and citizens with benchmarks of child
    well-being, KIDS COUNT seeks to enrich local, state, and national
    discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all children.

  • The Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research

    For Alberta's Children ... Incorporated in 2003, The Alberta Centre for
    Child, Family and Community Research acts as a spark plug for research
    on issues related to the health and well-being of Alberta’s children,
    families and communities. The Centre will focus the collective energies
    and resources of universities, government, community organizations and
    industry on problems common to all. Our goal is to identify gaps in the
    system, find the best solutions to fill them, and relay our findings to
    public policy makers, front-line service workers, and community service
    organizations.

  • Alberta Promise

    Alberta’s Promise is an initiative to facilitate partnerships between
    communities, businesses, foundations, services clubs and agencies, who
    together share the vision of making Alberta the best place in the world
    to raise children.

  • Child and Youth Friendly Calgary

    Child and Youth Friendly Calgary (CYFC) is a recognized authority
    worldwide for including youth in community. Child and Youth Friendly
    staff are involved in as many as twenty committees at any given time,
    making sure the youth voice is present and accounted for. The child and
    youth friendly city concept is spreading. CYFC has assisted many cities
    around the world in developing their own youth-inclusive initiatives,
    modeled after our programs.