Children Adopted Internationally
In 2007, we conducted a pilot study with 20 families with young children adopted internationally. This early research laid the foundation for application for a large international adoption grant from NIMH, which was successfully awarded in 2008 and will begin recruitment in 2009.
Study of brain functioning
In 2007-2008, the Infant Caregiver Project in collaboration with intramural investigators at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has been conducting a brain scanning project involving adopted and non-adopted children. This project is very exciting because it allows us to examine differences in brain development among children who have been placed into adoptive homes at different ages. The two regions of the brain that we are focusing on (the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex) are regions that are affected by early experience, and that influence children’s ability to control emotions and behaviors.
Dissemination project
Edna Bennett Pierce funding has also supported a dissemination project of the ABC intervention. In the spring of 2008, clinicians and practitioners from the United States and abroad came to the University of Delaware for ABC intervention training. These participants are provided supervision by the Infant Caregiver Project for a period of one year, and upon completion will be certified ABC interventionists. With the continued support of Edna Bennett Pierce, this dissemination work will be ongoing.
Policy Initiatives
Funding from Edna Bennett Pierce will allow the Infant Caregiver Project to develop policy initiatives related to outcomes we observe in our research. The first issue that we have chosen to focus upon is the use of institutional care in the United States. Congregate or group care has been found to be problematic in every systematic investigation conducted. Nonetheless, babies and young children are still being placed into congregate care in the United States. Intentions of individuals who set up such facilities (and who contribute to them) are certainly benign. People think of these as “nice, clean” facilities that will allow sibling groups to stay together, or allow children to return to birth parents more quickly than if placed into foster care. However, these positive outcomes are not seen for children in congregate care.
Carole Shauffer, an attorney with a keen interest in ending congregate care, is working with Mary Dozier to develop a strategy to affect policy with regard to this issue. They have formed a working group that meets to discuss the strongest approach to this and other child welfare issues where research findings can be used to affect policy.
The Infant Caregiver Project is privileged to receive the financial support of Edna Bennett Pierce. Mrs. Bennett Pierce is a philanthropist from Delaware who cares deeply about child welfare issues. Her generous support of our research over the past several years has enabled us to break ground on some exciting new projects: