Micheale Marcus puts her hands in the air. Then on her nose. Then on the table—a miniature one, where she sits with her client: a 3-year-old toddler who mimics her every move.
Marcus, a second-year graduate student, is receiving training in early childhood autism spectrum disorders through a new traineeship offered in the College of Education and Human Sciences’ school psychology graduate program.
Among mattresses lining the living room floor, a mother of two—recently evicted and living with a friend—shares her parenting story with a CYFS data collection team.
Her story is one of many that will guide an evaluation of the Superintendents’ Early Childhood Plan, launched last year by the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska to close achievement gaps for at-risk children in the Omaha metropolitan area.
Cynthia Germanotta had just buckled into a trans-Atlantic flight back from Paris when her daughter paused and looked at her.
Mom, it’s time, she said.
The 25-year-old singer, Lady Gaga, had just finished another international concert. She had just finished listening to yet more stories from young fans struggling with bullying and mental health issues. And she knew she had to do something about it.
CYFS joined the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in launching an early childhood research initiative with Brazil during a meeting held May 18-19 in São Paulo.
The working meeting drew 60 early childhood scholars, policymakers and educators from Brazil and UNL with the purpose of forming collaborative teams to conduct future research. UNL’s representation included 13 faculty members from CYFS and the College of Education and Human Sciences.
Registration is open for the June 13 Bullying Prevention Conference: Identifying and Intervening in Early Childhood at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Nebraska Innovation Campus. The conference is free and open to the public, but space is limited.
The Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools has earned $6.5 million to shape Nebraska early childhood practices and policies, while leading a national network committed to improving children’s outcomes.
The project is part of the multi-institutional Early Learning Network, a $26 million research initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences.
With $2.5 million in federal funding, a CYFS research team is exploring the power of partnerships to benefit Nebraska’s youngest children.
Led by Lisa Knoche, CYFS research associate professor, the team aims to improve developmental outcomes—specifically language and social-emotional skills—for infants and toddlers. Their project is one of four national studies funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families. Together, research findings will inform local and national Early Head Start programs, which provide early childhood services for low-income families.
While childcare shapes the trajectory of future generations, evaluating its impact is far from child’s play.
Led by Greg Welch, CYFS research associate professor, a multi-campus University of Nebraska team has received funding to evaluate and inform childcare quality. The CYFS-housed project, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, will pinpoint the minimum thresholds of childcare quality needed to promote positive development and prevent negative outcomes for children birth to age five.