North Jefferson County News

Congratulations to the following faculty and staff members who received grants and awards in October 2022:

Kevin Morris, executive director of the Institute for Human-Animal Connection

• Grant from PetSmart Charities
• Project abstract: Creating equitable access to veterinary care is a growing focus of the animal welfare field. Applying a more nuanced definition of access to veterinary care will break down barriers to access and improve service delivery to traditionally underserved communities. The University of Denver's Institute for Human-Animal Connection (IHAC) is proposing to incorporate a more nuanced community-based definition of access to care, in partnership with PetSmart Charities, to support the successful design, implementation, and evaluation of the Diverse Community Veterinary Care Grants program.

Corinne Lengsfeld and Keith Miller, senior vice provost and associate provost in the Office of Graduate Education

• Grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
• Project abstract: This project serves to establish and sustain the Colorado National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) Center of Excellence (CoE). This CoE, one of two in the nation, will provide training, consultation, and resources to other public health entities interested in starting their own wastewater monitoring programs across the nation. This includes collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop assays to test for pathogens of public health concern in wastewater samples and consultation with CDC on a variety of wastewater monitoring topics.

Kimberly Bender, faculty at the Graduate School of Social Work

• Grant from Corporation for National Service
• Project abstract: This participatory research project partners with Dry Bones, a nonprofit which supports unhoused young people in Denver through longtime relationships, to collaboratively build a peer support program which fosters civic engagement and civic health. We will convene a participatory action research (PAR) team consisting of our research team members and Dry Bones staff, volunteers, and young people receiving support.

Elysia Clemens and Courtney Everson, faculty at the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab

• Grant from the Colorado Department of Human Services
• Project abstract: The goal of this pilot is to create a data-informed strategic framework for coordinated Plans of Safe Care service delivery and tracking across Colorado that: (a) creates multiple entry points for developing a POSC; (b) cultivates a culture of cross-system collaboration and ownership; and (c) develops a comprehensive data collection system.

Lena Lundgren, faculty at the Graduate School of Social Work

• Grant from Casa Esperanza (subaward Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
• Project abstract: Dr. Lundgren will, in collaboration with staff at Brandeis University, conduct a community needs assessment and outcome evaluation of Casa Esperanza’s implementation of a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic funded by SAMHSA.

Jonathan Moyer, Barry Hughes, Anajulia Barney and Collin Meisel, faculty and staff at the Pardee Center for International Futures

• Grant from the Central Intelligence Agency
• Project abstract: The Diplometrics program consists of a collection of data building, analysis and forecasting projects, including: the Perceived Mass Atrocities Dataset (PMAD), the Country and Organization Leadership Travel (COLT) database, the Formal Bilateral Influence Capacity (FBIC), the Global Power Index (GPI) and various diplomatic datasets.

Amy Roberts, Laricia Longworth-Reed and Ann Wacker, staff at the Butler Institute for Families

• Grant from the Department of Health and Human Services
• Project abstract: The aim of this project is to conduct policy- and practice-relevant research that assesses the associations among various supports for home-based child care (HBCC) educators, their personal well-being, and their use of supportive practices with children and families. Specifically, we seek to identify the extent to which access to and use of various supports for HBCC educators relate to educators' personal health and mental health and use of supportive referral practices for children and families, as well as use of expulsion practices. Additionally, we seek to understand the extent to which rurality and poverty density relate to access to and use of resources, as well as educator well-being and practices.

Jonathan Moyer, Barry Hughes, Anajulia Barney and Collin Meisel, faculty and staff at the Pardee Center for International Futures

• Grant from UN Women
• Project abstract: This project includes four components which together will enable long-term forecasting of new gender-relevant variables and will use integrated modeling to better understand the likely effect of climate change in the future, especially its effect on women and girls. The primary quantitative tool for this work is the International Futures (IFs) model. IFs is an open-source integrated assessment modeling platform allowing for scenario analysis for 186 countries with forecasting capability out to 2100.

Deborah Avant, faculty at the Sié-Cheou Kang Center for International Security & Diplomacy

• Grant from New America (subaward Ford Foundation)
• Project abstract: The Planetary Politics Peer Advisor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies will build institutional ties between the Korbel School and the Sié Chéou-Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy and New America.

Doris Candelarie, faculty at the Morgridge College of Education

• Grant from the University of Texas at San Antonio
• Project abstract: This Scope of Work outlines the initial plans for the first year (November 2021 to October 2022) of the ECPI initiative and describes the consulting which the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Department in the Morgridge College of Education at the University of Denver will provide the Urban School Leaders Collaborative at University of Texas San Antonio.

Kavitha Kailasam, staff at the Butler Institute for Families

• Grant from the Colorado Department of Human Services
• Project abstract: The Tony Grampsas Youth Services Program (TGYS) wishes to offer ongoing Positive Youth Development (PYD) capacity-building opportunities to a self-selected cohort of grantees working on building their skills and application of PYD within their unique programmatic contexts. The overarching goal of the 2022-23 PYD capacity-building project is to facilitate learning environments that cultivate and connect the collective experience and wisdom of TGYS grantees around PYD.

Marquisha Scott, faculty at the Graduate School of Social Work

• Grant from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
• Project abstract: The research project is an extension of research conducted with local clergy in Philadelphia and Denver about the impact that topics like climate change and changing workforces due to globalization have on community members. With these large topics, clergy are interested in learning more about how to engage with these difficult topics to be effective supports for their congregations and larger community, namely youth.

Original source can be found here.