Jane Addams Center for Social Policy and Research
About the center
Center Staff
Families and the Justice System
Child Welfare Policies and Procedures
Community Based Services
Publications and Reports
Upcoming Events
IRB - Departmental Research Procedures and Forms
About the center
The Jane Addams Center for Social Policy and Research promotes and facilitates university-community partnerships in advancing social welfare policies, programs, and services. As an operating unit of the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the center engages faculty in public service and research activities directed toward meeting the needs of urban communities, especially poor families and children. The center conducts research and evaluation studies, analyzes public policies, disseminates research findings, holds forums on important policy issues, and tests new program models and service delivery strategies. Major center initiatives focus on social work, families, and the criminal justice system; child welfare system development; and community based social services. The center maintains an extensive resource collection including research studies and program literature, public policy reviews, organizational development models, and original publications and training material in each of these areas.
Staff
Creasie Finney Hairston, Ph.D.
Director
Lori Crowder, MSW
Center Coordinator
Joseph Strickland
Research Associate
Charles Hounmenou
Research Assistant
Families and the Justice System
Families and the Justice System, focuses on social work, families and the criminal justice system. Research projects include studies on prisonser' re-entry and reintegration, and parents in prison and their children.
Recent Projects
Formerly Incarcerated Women's Recidivism and Reintegration in Illinois
Principal Investigators: Patricia O'Brien & Robin BatesA quantitative and qualitative examination of the extent to which demographics, family functioning, relationships, institutional experiences, offense history, and physical and emotional needs affect recidivism among female offenders. The study also examines factors associated with women's successful community reintegration.
Social Connections and Delinquency: Adolescent Girls Whose Mothers Are Incarcerated
Principal Investigator: Shonda Wills, Ph.D.Improving Outcomes for Children and Families of Incarcerated Parents
Principal Investigator: Robin BatesExamination of the unique needs and circumstances of children and families of incarcerated parents in order to discern research needs as well as pinpoint policies and practices that improve outcomes for children and families impacted by parental imprisonment.
Jane's House Evaluation
Principal Investigator: Creasie Finney Hairston; Co-Investigator: Robin BatesOutcome evaluation of Jane's House, a community-based alternative to incarceration for women and their infants born during mother's imprisonment.
Child Welfare
Exemplary Practice
Principal Investigator: James P. Gleeson, Ph.D.
Co-Principal Investigator: Faith J. Bonecutter, LCSWThe Kinship Care Practice Project
The Kinship Care Practice Project conducts research, develops training materials, and provides educational opportunities to ensure safety, well-being, and permanent homes for children through collaborative work with extended families. The project began in 1992 as a research and demonstration project funded by the Adoption Opportunities Program of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children, Youth and Families (ACYF). The project has received additional support through a subsequent training and curriculum development grant from ACYF, contracts with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, additional support from the Jane Addams College of Social Work and the Jane Addams Center for Social Policy and Research at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and in-kind contributions from many community and child welfare agencies.
The 1992 research and demonstration project: (1) examined child welfare practice with children in foster care placements with relatives, and (2) developed a training curriculum based on practice principles that promote safety, well-being, and permanent homes for children. Currently the kinship care practice project provides training for supervisors, trainers, and child welfare practitioners, based upon this training curriculum.
While the kinship care practice project has focused primarily on families with children who are in the custody of the child welfare system, research is also being conducted that examines the protective factors in informal kinship care arrangements, where the child welfare system is not involved.
Community-Based Services
Central West Case Management Unit
Central West Case Management Unit is a community-based resource for older adults and their families, offering programs to enable older adults to live as independently as possible and assisting families and friends in caregiving responsibilities. This Program:
. Provides quality case management services to frail, older adults living in Chicago's west side neighborhoods.
. Provides training and educational programs on needs of, and resources for, older adults.
. Provides opportunities for students and faculty to gain insight into gerontological practice.
. Supports development of innovative models of service, research, and evaluation.
. Provides MSW students on-site experience working with older adults.
Selected Publications & Reports
Available online
Immigration Enforcement: Considerations for Child Welfare Systems. A.J. Dettlaff, & S.D. Phillips. 2007.
What we Know Now that we Didn't Know Then about the Criminal Justice System's Involvement in Families with whom Child Welfare Agencies have Contact. S.D.
Women Prisoners and Recidivism: Factors Assoicated with Re-Arrest One Year Post-Release. R.E. Bates. 2004.
Family Connections During Imprisonment and Prisoners' Community Reentry . C.F. Hairston, J. Rollin, & H.J. Jo. 2004.
Serving Incarcerated Mothers and their Babies in Community-Based Residences . C.F. Hairston, R.E. Bates, & S. Lawrence-Wills. 2003.
Children and Families of Incarcerated Parents: A View from the Ground . R.E. Bates, S. Lawrence-Wills, & C.F. Hairston. 2003.