Welcome to the Fall Issue of News From the Field! My Field Center colleagues and I are grateful for the continued opportunity to collaborate across campus during the 2023-2024 academic year. We have onboarded a new class of graduate student interns, and we are excited about bringing critical learning in child welfare to our classrooms, research, and activities at the University of Pennsylvania.

In this issue you will read about an exciting new international collaboration led by our Managing Faculty Director Johanna Greeson. We are grateful to lend our research expertise to assist with the evaluation of a program supporting family self-sufficiency and child wellbeing worldwide, and we look forward to exploring ways to invest in communities that could benefit families in the United States.

I also extend my congratulations to PhD Student John Gyourko who was recently awarded the NASW-PA’s Presidential Service Award! I am continually impressed by the breadth of work undertaken by this team, and we are thrilled to share more about this award with you below.

To our readers, thank you for your ongoing investment in supporting children and families. We look forward to engaging with you throughout the year.

With our best wishes for a healthy and happy Fall,

Studies have shown that cash transfer programs, often used by governments and non-profit organizations to support families and communities in low- and middle-income countries, are a promising practice to bring positive changes and improved outcomes for families’ health, nutrition, and education (Fernald et al., 2008; Ranganathan & Lagard, 2012). With the goal of analyzing data collected by Children International (CI) through the delivery of their Community Independence Initiative (CII), the Field Center was recently contracted as a research partner in hopes of expanding the available quantitative and qualitative knowledge on the impacts of cash transfer programs.

Children International (CI) is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that helps children around the world break the cycle of poverty, aiming to “build healthy environments for children and empower them to create lasting change.” (children.org). Two years ago, CI completed a pilot research study to assess their Community Independence Initiative (CII) model of family cash transfer programs in Mexico, the Philippines, and Colombia. Now, the Field Center will consult alongside CI to test the sustainability of the CII model that provides monthly cash transfers to families, allows them to strengthen their social networks and collects regular participant input about their progress.

With the aligned goal of understanding and promoting best practices for children and families, the Field Center looks forward to working with CI on this research that will contribute to the global literature and enhance knowledge on family cash transfer programs. To learn more about this project, visit our website.

Fernald, L. C., Gertler, P. J., & Neufeld, L. M. (2008). Role of cash in conditional cash transfer programmes for child health, growth, and development: an analysis of Mexico's Oportunidades. The lancet, 371(9615), 828-837.

Ranganathan, M., & Lagarde, M. (2012). Promoting healthy behaviours and improving health outcomes in low and middle income countries: a review of the impact of conditional cash transfer programmes. Preventive medicine, 55, S95-S105.

To learn more about how you can support our work, please contact the SP2 Director of Institutional Advancement Bart Miltenberger at miltenbe@upenn.edu or 215-573-5624.

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Members of the Field Center team attended this summer’s virtual Kempe Featured Lecture Series organized by the Kempe Interdisciplinary Research Institute. The lecture series featured policy, practice, and research experts in child maltreatment and child welfare. We particularly appreciated the opportunity to learn from Dr. Katrina Bledsoe’s lecture titled “Using CREE (Culturally Responsive and Equity-focused approaches) to Conduct People-centered Research and Evaluation” that emphasized the importance of centering equity in research. 

CREE (Culturally Responsive and Equity-focused Evaluation) is an approach that incorporates cultural, structural, and contextual variables, empowering marginalized communities while informing positive social change. CREE challenges traditional research methodologies that seek to relegate culture to the margins, and instead recognizes community members as stakeholders and prioritizes a person-centered approach that values lived experience. Equity, CREE, and multicultural validity are increasing in prominence within research circles as they collectively contribute to a more human-centric research process by engaging and uplifting communities. This robust research approach holds the potential to bring about positive change by involving communities and viewing community members as partners throughout the research and evaluation process. To learn more about CREE, click here.

The Field Center’s Young Professional Council wrapped up the summer with a festive ice cream social on August 29^th. With delicious treats provided by Nana’s Sweet Scoop, YPC members gathered in the Field Center’s courtyard to celebrate the accomplishments of the past year and enjoy the company of professionals supporting a shared vision. We are grateful for the involvement of this committed group, who further our reach in the professional community, support our development efforts, and share their ideas and insight with us!

The Field Center congratulates SP2 doctoral student John R. Gyourko, MSW on his receipt of the 2023 Presidential Service Award by the National Association of Social Workers Pennsylvania Chapter. The award is formally conferred at the Keystone Awards Gala, held on October 24th, 2023 as part of NASW-PA’s Annual Conference. The Keystone Awards recognize exceptional social work professionals who go above and beyond in their service within the profession. 

John is a member of the NASW-PA’s Workforce Committee, where he plays a key role in the committee’s initiatives to learn more about the lived experiences of social work students. In collaboration with a diverse team of clinical practitioners, policy advocates, and social work faculty who also serve on the committee, John engaged with community stakeholders to pilot, refine, and administer the committee’s cross-sectional, online survey. John conducted original research inspired by survey respondents’ voices and perspectives on social work education. Now under peer review, this study takes an exploratory step toward quantifying the many financial and psychosocial challenges that social work students encounter while pursuing their degrees. We congratulate John on this well-deserved award and thank him for his valuable contributions to the Field Center!