Our 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). Our 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 inside review of the initial SFF effort and opinions from our stakeholder partners. Click HERE to read the paper!

After a few years of work with youth, SFF engaged with the North Carolina Division of Social Services and the Orange County Department of Social Services to find out more about the teenagers that were in foster care in the past and how they were faring currently. The data was difficult to discern but researcher Mike Fliss was able to advance the project and see what teenagers in foster care looked like over a 4-year longitudinal period. Click HERE to read the paper!

The SFF Focus Group was concluded in 2014. This project was produced through the work of Blair Nell, and again with the North Carolina Division of Social Services and the Orange County Department of Social Services. 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. We were able to talk 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 and Paper II explores not only child welfare but also youth development programs and concepts going on around the country. Click HERE to read Paper I and HERE to read Paper II!

Literature We are Interested In

Since SFF is small, we rely on the research of others. We find the following studies, papers, and groups insightful 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