SFF Research Efforts

SFF’s research started with Professor Rick Barth, then a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Social Work (UNC SSW). SFF’s work with Professor Barth and other UNC SSW staff led to the first SFF paper, an examination of the initial SFF program development and launch. The document provides an internal review of the early SFF initiative and perspectives from our stakeholder partners. Click HERE to read the paper!

After several years of working with youth, SFF collaborated with the North Carolina Division of Social Services and the Orange County Department of Social Services to gather information about the teenagers previously in foster care and their current well-being. The data was difficult to discern, but researcher Mike Fliss was instrumental in progressing the project and studying the characteristics of teenagers in foster care over a 4-year longitudinal period. Click HERE to read the study!

A SFF Focus Group was concluded in 2014. This project was spearheaded by Blair Nell, who worked with the North Carolina Division of Social Services and the Orange County Department of Social Services. SFF determined two hundred and forty-one people were in foster care for at least six months as teenagers in Orange County, NC over a twenty-year span. SFF was able to speak with some of them about their experiences in foster care. Click HERE to read the paper and attachments (A, B, C)!

In order to obtain a better understanding of the North Carolina foster care placement system, Quincy Ellzey conducted an exploratory study that led to a two-part series. Paper I probes into the placement system of NC foster care, while Paper II explores not only child welfare but also youth development programs and concepts happening around the country. Click HERE to read Paper I and HERE to read Paper II!

Literature of Interest

Since SFF is small, we depend on the research of others. We find the following studies, papers, and groups valuable to the work we do at SFF.

Angela Duckworth’s work on Grit

Casey Family Programs

Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago’s Midwest Study