Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP)

Strategies to Address Structural Barriers to Economic Inclusion and Well-being Among Families Experiencing Poverty in the United States

Over the past quarter century, significant strides have been made in reducing child poverty, largely due to increased investments in the social safety net for children. Our nation has learned a lot about what works to reduce child poverty. However, significant challenges to sustaining and continuing this progress remain. In particular, stark disparities in child poverty among racial and ethnic lines, for children in immigrant families, and by family structure persist. In addition, the focus of support has shifted towards working families near or above the poverty line, inadvertently leaving behind children and families experiencing deep poverty.

Dr. Thomson will share findings across multiple projects designed to better understand the structural barriers to economic inclusion and wellbeing for families of color, immigrant families, and those experiencing deep poverty. She will highlight policy levers and programmatic strategies that show promise for addressing those barriers, promoting economic inclusion, and improving wellbeing for all children and families.

Sponsored by the Department of Human Development & Family Sciences, with generous support from the Luckey family.

If you require an accommodation to participate in this event, please contact the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at 860.486.4049 or cynthia.stewart@uconn.edu by Wednesday, October 2^nd.

In Recognition of World Mental Health Month

Shalini Sivathasan, Ph.D., Boston College
“Reimagining Mental Health Care for Autistic Individuals: Social Justice Approaches for Research and Clinical Practice”
October 10, 2024 | 12:30 PM | WebEx

RSVP

Dr. Shalini Sivathasan (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College. Her research interests broadly center around improving behavioral health outcomes and access to mental healthcare among people with multiple marginalized identities (e.g., autistic and neurodivergent individuals, racial/ethnic minorities, LGBTQIA+). As the director of the Intersections Lab at BC, she and her students aim to leverage expert knowledge through collaborations with people with lived experiences, families, community partners, and mental health professionals, ultimately with the goal of reducing disparities and developing accessible interventions for marginalized children and adults.

Join InCHIP for a virtual workshop that will provide UConn researchers an overview of how to draft compelling policy briefs and strategies to disseminate these briefs to policymakers. Participants will learn best practices for selecting content, writing for a nontechnical audiences, and how to transform their briefs into op-eds. Additionally, participants will create a network of resources who can provide feedback on their briefs. By the end of this training, participants should have the foundational skills to submit their own policy brief to the second annual Moving Beyond Implications Conference in December.

Confirmed panelists include:

• State Representative Jaime Foster, 57th Assembly District (East Windsor, Ellington, Vernon)
• Kerri Raissian, UConn ARMS Center Director
• Caitlin Caspi, Associate Director of the Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy & Director of Food Security Initiatives at the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health

Details and Registration

CSCH & InCHIP Continuing Series: Career Wellness in School and Child Health
Join us for a conversation about the challenge of managing demanding work and your well-being. This event is specifically designed for early career professionals and graduate students in the field of school and child health. We will engage in supportive discussion and share tips and tricks.

Wednesday October 23, 2024 | 12pm-1pm
Family Studies Building (FSB) room 120 or online

Register to receive the virtual link.

Registration is also preferred for those attending in person but drop-ins are welcome.

Janine M. Simmons, M.D., Ph.D.
Deputy Director, Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)

“Charting a Path toward Emotional Well-Being: Perspectives from the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research”

October 24, 2024 | 12:30 - 1:30 PM | WebEx

Janine M. Simmons, M.D., Ph.D. joined OBSSR as the Deputy Director in January 2024. In this role, she supports the OBSSR Director and staff in strategic planning, developing scientific initiatives, ensuring strong communication with internal and external stakeholders, and implementing plans to advance the coordination, integration, and impact of behavioral and social sciences research.

Dr. Simmons comes to OBSSR by way of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA). At NIMH, Dr. Simmons ran the Social and Affective Neuroscience Program within the Division of Neuroscience and Basic Behavioral Science, served as a subject matter expert on Social Processes for NIMH’s Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) program, and originated proposals for the BRAIN initiative’s Brain-Behavior Quantification and Synchronization initiative. At NIA, Dr. Simmons was Chief of the Individual Behavioral Processes Branch within the Division of Behavioral and Social Research and served as a Program Officer or Project Scientist for NIA’s Stress Measurement Network, Emotional Well-Being Networks, Telomere Research Network, and the Science of Behavior Change Coordinating Center. Dr. Simmons has a long-standing relationship with OBSSR, including active participation in OppNet since 2010 and co-chairing the OBSSR Coordinating Committee’s Behavioral Ontology Development Working Group since 2015.

Dr. Simmons attended Yale University, obtained an M.D., Ph.D. in Neurosciences from the UCLA School of Medicine, trained in General & Adult Psychiatry at Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship within the NIMH Intramural Program. Her graduate and post-doctoral research focused on neural circuits underlying motivation and reward processing.