About Us
Policy Research, Public Engagement, Teaching
The Institute for Child, Youth, and Family Policy conducts policy and policy-relevant research, promotes active public engagement, and contributes to the teaching activities of the Heller School, through the Heller PhD concentration in Children, Youth, and Families and through its affiliate, the Center for Youth and Communities.
The Institute has a wide-ranging portfolio of research and public engagement projects dealing with vulnerable or disenfranchised populations, reflecting the school's dedication to the vision of knowledge advancing social justice. The Institute's main foci are
Many of the Institute's projects, which are supported by various foundations and the federal and state governments, involve collaborations with other research centers inside and outside of Brandeis.
Established in 1990 through gifts from The Rapaporte Foundation and the family of Barbara Fish Lee, the Institute has subsequently received philanthropic support from the Frank and Theresa Caplan Endowment for Early Childhood and Parenting Education, the family of Sol C. Chaikin, and the family of Judith Krieger Gardner. The Institute uses these funds to support Judy's Workshop (a highly interactive, two-day education program devoted to some aspect of child or family policy), doctoral fellowships, student travel to make presentations at meetings, and other activities.