Research at Jane Addams
The research conducted by our faculty not only addresses the needs of marginalized communities, it amplifies the voices of individuals and families in those communities, so that their lived experiences can inform social services and public policy.
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The Public Health Impact of Cannabis Legalization
Under funding from the Illinois Department of Human Services/Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery, Professor James Swartz is studying the public health impact of legalizing recreational cannabis. One of the aims of the study is to evaluate the development of programs to mitigate social problems stemming from the war on drugs. Learn More »
Understanding Organizational and Community Capacity for Violence intervention
Dean Creasie Finney Hairston and her team have conducted a formal assessment of a community-based organization in Chicago that delivers violence prevention and interruption services, offering detailed documentation, systematic analysis, and reports of how successful violence prevention and interruption programs actually operate. Learn More »
Improving Outcomes for Children in the Child Welfare System
Professor Sonya Leathers has been working with Illinois DCFS to evaluate the effectiveness of the team-based CIPP model for youth who are at risk of placement disruption. She has analyzed input not only from DCFS caseworkers, but also from the youth and their caregivers. Learn More »
Supporting Street Intervention Workers
Under a grant from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, Assistant Professor Kathryn Bocanegra is examining trauma exposure among frontline workers in community violence prevention and how it impacts them as professionals, with a long-term aim of manualizing best practices so that organizations can better support their street intervention workers. Learn More »