History

The Center for Child and Family Policy was established at Duke University on July 1, 1999, following several years of planning by faculty members representing numerous disciplines and the full campus. The Center was approved as a university-wide Center for an initial five-year period by the Office of the Vice-Provost, and it received start-up funds from Trinity College of Arts and Sciences. Kenneth A. Dodge was named its first Director, reporting simultaneously to the Dean of Arts and Sciences and the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy. Barbara Pollock became its Assistant Director. A voluntary Board of Advisors that is appointed by the Dean consists of seven faculty members and administrators who provide guidance to the Director and report to the Dean.

The Center's mission was initially framed broadly to bring academic scholarship to bear on problems facing children and families in contemporary society, through its activities of research, teaching, service, and policy development. In reality, though, its initial tasks were to define its mission more specifically, to build a critical mass of support within the university, to establish partnerships with community and government agencies, and to obtain external funding for its activities.

Four years later, the Center had grown three comprehensive programs of policy-relevant activity, in areas of adolescent problem behaviors, education reform, and early childhood adversity. Its initial space allocation of 900 square feet grew to over 40 offices occupying approximately 8,000 square feet in three different locations on and off campus.

Center affiliates include more than 80 faculty members from all relevant departments and schools within the university, with more than 20 of these persons participating in one or more of the Center's external grants.

Major Center Milestones:

1999: The Center was established by the Office of the Vice-Provost

1999: Kenneth A. Dodge, Ph.D. named director

2000: The establishment of the North Carolina Education Research Data Center in collaboration with the NC Department of Public Instruction and the University of North Carolina

2002: The creation of the Durham Family Initiative, in collaboration with local and state partners, with the goal of reducing child abuse rates in Durham and North Carolina over the next decade

2004: The initiation of a cross-university interdisciplinary Spencer FoundationDoctoral Certificate Program in Education Policy Research

2004: Five year renewal of Center (see Strategic Plan 2004-2009)

2004: Philip Costanzo and Rick Hoyle named Associate Directors

2004: The establishment of a Transdisciplinary Prevention Research Center, with funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and goals of translating basic science into innovative policies and practices to prevent drug use among adolescents

2005: Approved to lead North Carolina's Family Impact Seminar initiative

2007: Children in Contemporary Society Undergraduate Certificate Program began

Other KEY Accomplishments:

• The creation and evaluation of preventive intervention programs for children at risk for violence and school failure (specifically, Fast Track, GREAT Schools and Families, STARS Plus, and TEAM)
• The scientific discovery of processes in children's behavioral development that are crucial to understand for policy development
• The administration of national conferences and briefings on topics in education, youth violence, and child abuse
• The Center has become nationally known for its expertise in translating basic science into intervention practice and policy.