Skip to main content

News Home

CYFS earns $6.5 million for early childhood studies, national leadership

CYFS  has earned federal funding to study Nebraska early childhood education,  and was also chosen to lead the project's national research network. The team includes (back row, from left) Greg Welch, Mark DeKraai, Jim Bovaird, (front row, from left) Lisa Knoche, Iheoma Iruka and Susan Sheridan. (Craig Chandler/University Communications)
CYFS has earned federal funding to study Nebraska early childhood education, and was also chosen to lead the project’s national research network. The team includes (back row, from left) Greg Welch, Mark DeKraai, Jim Bovaird, (front row, from left) Lisa Knoche, Iheoma Iruka and Susan Sheridan. (Craig Chandler/University Communications). View video.

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. Full Article

CYFS awarded $2.5 million to advance early childhood development

The Getting Ready 0-3 research team, from left: Lisa Knoche, Susan Sheridan, Helen Raikes, Christine Marvin and Leslie Hawley.
CYFS researchers have received $2.5 million in funding to advance early childhood development with the Getting Ready research intervention. Lisa Knoche (left) leads the study, along with Susan Sheridan, Helen Raikes, Christine Marvin and Leslie Hawley.

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. Full Article

Welch, NU team awarded childcare evaluation grant

151117-ThresholdsII
Greg Welch, CYFS research associate professor, far right, is leading a recently funded project to evaluate childcare quality. The research team includes, from left, Iheoma Iruka, director of research and evaluation at the Buffett Early Childhood Institute, and Helen Raikes and Julia Torquati, UNL professors of child, youth and family studies.

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. Full Article

CYFS announces early childhood research academy

Lisa Knoche, director of the CYFS-housed Nebraska Early Childhood Research Academy
Lisa Knoche, director of the Nebraska Early Childhood Research Academy

As a strategic partner in UNL’s renewed commitment to early childhood, CYFS announced the formation of the Nebraska Early Childhood Research Academy Sept. 24.

Led by Lisa Knoche, CYFS assistant director for research, the CYFS-housed academy will include interdisciplinary partners across all University of Nebraska campuses, as well as the Buffett Early Childhood Institute and community and state agencies. Full Article

Video presentation available for visiting Brazilian researcher

Economist Ricardo Paes de Barros discusses Brazil's early childhood programs and progress Aug. 11 at UNL.
Economist Ricardo Paes de Barros discusses Brazil’s early childhood programs and progress Aug. 11 at UNL. View video presentation.

To mark the start of an emerging partnership with Brazilian early childhood researchers, CYFS hosted Brazilian economist Ricardo Paes de Barros for an early childhood presentation Aug. 11 at the Nebraska Union.

In his address, “The status of early childhood development in Brazil and its progress over the past decade: Programs, outcomes and legislation,” Barros presented original research and discussed key topics, including: Full Article

Barros to present Brazil’s early childhood progress

CYFS will host Ricardo Paes de Barros, a leading Brazilian economist, for a Aug. 11 presentation on the state of early childhood in Brazil.
CYFS will host Ricardo Paes de Barros, a leading Brazilian economist, for an Aug. 11 presentation on the state of early childhood in Brazil.

To mark the start of an emerging partnership between UNL and Brazilian early childhood researchers, the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools will host Ricardo Paes de Barros, a leading Brazilian economist, for a 10 a.m. presentation Aug. 11 at the Nebraska Union. Full Article

CYFS outlines latest research at Early Childhood Summit

Samuel Meisels
Samuel Meisels, executive director of the Buffett Early Childhood Institute, offers opening remarks at the 2014 CYFS Summit on Research in Early Childhood. To watch videos and download slideshows of the summit’s presentations, visit cyfs.unl.edu/ecs/2014.

The Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools shared the latest results, conclusions and questions arising from research on early childhood when it hosted an April 10 summit in Lincoln, Neb.

Co-sponsored by the Buffett Early Childhood Institute and First Five Nebraska, the 2014 CYFS Summit on Research in Early Childhood featured 16 presentations that highlighted findings from a wide spectrum of recent studies related to early development, care and education. Full Article