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Research and Service: Family Science

Faculty members and students of the Department of Family Science lead and participate in multiple research centers and outreach initiatives, including:  

Students on the Mall at dusk as seen through trees. Student in a hammock between trees.

Black Families Research Group

Led by Dr. Mia Smith Bynum, the mission of the Black Families Research group is to conduct high-quality research on African American families and disseminate research findings to scholarly, policy and lay outlets.

Black Men's Health UMD Study

Black Men's Health UMD

The Black Men's Health UMD study explores the biological, psychological and sociological factors associated with black men’s experiences of trauma by drawing on complementary quantitative and qualitative methods for both basic and applied research.

Two small children kissing their mother

Center for Healthy Families

The Center for Healthy Families serves as the primary clinical training site for the department's nationally accredited Couple and Family Therapy M.S. program. Graduate student interns provide clinical services to hundreds of couples and families from our surrounding communities. 

Familias Activas

Familias Activas

Familias Activas is USDA-funded Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) health and wellness program that uses soccer, mental health, and child-parent relationships to promote a healthier generation of Latinx youth.

diverse group of kids smiling in a classroom

The Karabelle Pizzigati Initiative in Advocacy for Children, Youth and Families

The Karabelle Pizzigati Initiative in Advocacy for Children Youth and Families, a collaboration with the School of Public Policy, builds a pipeline of informed, effective advocates to ensure all children are healthy, safe, learning and joyful.

Opioids

Maryland Rural Opioid Technical Assistance

MarylandROTA (Rural Opioid Technical Assistance) is part of an initiative by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and was established by the University of Maryland (UMD) in partnership with local and state organizations.

Padres Preparados Jovenes Saludables

Padres Preparados, Jóvenes Saludables

Padres Preparados, Jóvenes Saludables (Prepared Parents, Healthy Youth) is a federally funded family-skills obesity prevention program for Latino immigrant fathers and their children.

Pride flag

The Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Health (SOGI Health) Laboratory

The Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Health (SOGI Health) Lab is affiliated with the Department of Family Science and the University of Maryland Prevention Research Center. The research group convenes faculty, students, and community partners in an effort to better understand and support the positive development and health of LGBTQ young people.

Pregnancy test showing a positive result

Teen Pregnancy and Parenting Research Laboratory

The Teen Pregnancy and Parenting Research Group conducts research that focuses on teen pregnancy prevention, and interventions to support the health and well-being of teen parent families.

Couple holding hand with sunset in the background

The TOGETHER Program

TOGETHER is an evidence-informed program that offers relationship and financial education, connection to community resources, and employment services to couples in Maryland and Virginia. 

M Circle virtual background at the University of Maryland

University of Maryland Extension

The mission of UME is to extend research-based knowledge to state citizens for both personal and public decision-making. Family Science faculty members have appointments through Maryland Extension in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) and conduct outreach.

Family Science students have unparalleled opportunities to work at major national organizations and institutes that address family issues in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Northern Virginia. Undergraduate and graduate students complete internships, attend professional meetings, and obtain summer employment at these agencies.

Following is a partial list of organizations and institutes that have involved Family Science students in research, policy analysis, educational programs, and direct services to families.

Alliance for Justice 
11 Dupont Circle NW, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20036 

American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
112 South Alfred Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-3061  

American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law
740 Fifteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20005-1022

American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
1150 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036

Association of Black Psychologists
107 S. West Street, PMB #119, Alexandria, VA 22314

The Brookings Institute
1775 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
820 1st Street, NE, #510, Washington, DC 20002

Center for Community Change
1000 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20007

The Center for Science in the Public Interest 
1875 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20009

The Century Foundation
1333 H Street NW, 10th Floor, Washington, DC 20005

Children's Defense Fund
25 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20001

Child Welfare League of America
440 First Street NW, Third Floor, Washington, DC 20001-2085

FRAC: Food Research and Action Center
1875 Connecticut Ave., NW Suite 540, Washington, DC 20009

The Fund for American Studies
1706 New Hampshire Ave NW, Washington, DC 20009  

National Council on Family Relations 
1620 I Street NW, Suite 210, Washington, DC 20006-4005

The Heritage Foundation
214 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002-4999

Human Rights Watch
1630 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20009

The Institute for Policy Studies 
733 15th St NW, Suite 1020, Washington, DC 20005

Institute for Women’s Policy Research
1707 L Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20036

Legal Momentum
1522 K St. NW, Suite 550, Washington, DC 20005

The National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD 20740-6001

National Institute of Child Health & Human Development
31 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892-2425

National Institutes of Health
9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892

National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
2001 S ST NW, Suite 620, Washington DC 20009

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force 
1325 Massachusetts Ave NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005

The National League of Cities
1301 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 550, Washington, DC 20004

National Partnership for Women and Families
1875 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 650, Washington, DC 20009

People for the American Way
2000 M Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036

Progressive Policy Institute
600 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20003

Public Citizen  
1600 20th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009

SAMHSA, Substance Abuse Mental Health Association 
1 Choke Cherry Road, Rockville, MD, 20857

Society for Research in Child Development
750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242

Urban Institute 
2100 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20037

U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
1717 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036

Voices for America’s Children 
1522 K Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005-1202

Archived Outreach Programs

The Maryland Veterans Resilience Initiative was a partnership between the University of Maryland School of Public Health and the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene that aimed to strengthen behavioral health services and peer support for Maryland's service members, veterans and their family members.

Governor O’Malley signed the Maryland Veterans Behavioral Health Act in 2008 and Lieutenant Governor Brown chaired the Veterans Behavioral Health Advisory Board.  In 2012, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) funded a two-year project, the Maryland Veterans Resilience Initiative (MaVRI), to strengthen mental/behavioral health services for returning service members, veterans, and their families.

MaVRI was implemented and directed by faculty and staff from University of Maryland’s Department of Family Science in the School of Public Health.

Sally A. Koblinsky, PhD
Principal Investigator

Leigh Leslie, PhD
Co-Investigator

Sandra Crouse Quinn, PhD
Co-investigator

Emily Cook, MS, LGMFT
Project Director

MaVRI included four components: an Advisory Council, a statewide Needs Assessment survey, provider trainings on behavioral health issues facing veterans and student veteran peer support on Maryland college campuses.