Abuse and trauma can impede a child’s development and reinforce the cycle of poverty. Many states provide critical services to intervene in that cycle by supporting kids and their families, but without good data, it’s hard to know which programs are most effective. David Grusky, professor of sociology, is leading a collaboration between the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality and the state of Washington’s Department of Children, Youth and Families to evaluate three programs focused on health, disabilities, and parenting skills. “The common-sense idea that a state’s policy should be based on the evidence has – strangely enough – come to be seen as radically disruptive,” Grusky said. These findings will also benefit other states that run versions of those same programs.
Principal Investigator: David Grusky, Sociology
Co-Principal Investigator: Maya Rossin-Slater, School of Medicine, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR)
Research Team: Charles Varner, Center on Poverty and Inequality Associate Director and Co-Investigator; Jonathan Fisher, Scientific Data Curator and Co-Investigator; Rosina Pradhananga, Research Manager
Partner: State of Washington, Department of Children, Youth, and Families
