? ? We seek to establish a program of research on Child Welfare, Drug Abuse and Intergenerational Risk (CWDAIR) based in the School of Social Welfare (SSW) at the University at Albany. The goal is to advance research on the development and delivery of coordinated, evidence-based and theoretically-oriented services for parents in the child welfare system with addiction and co-occurring problems including HIV/AIDS. The focus on substance abuse in conjunction with HIV/AIDS within child welfare families is timely, appropriate, and significant since children in these families face significant barriers to healthy development. Improved and more integrated services for parents will reduce the risk of drug abuse and other negative outcomes in the next generation. The CWDAIR Program has two specific aims: first, to build an infrastructure for conducting interdisciplinary research on drug abuse and HIV/AIDS in child welfare families, including the development and support of interdisciplinary research teams based in SSW; and second, to develop collaborative partnerships with state agency leaders and professionals from child welfare, HIV/AlDS, and substance abuse services to improve the design of services to address substance abuse and co-occurring problems among high risk parents. The research program will support high impact collaborative research leading to R01, R03 and K awards, better services for high-risk families, and reduced intergenerational transfer of risk. ? ? In order to achieve Program aims, a capacity-building infrastructure development is planned. Specifically the CWDAIR Program will: (1) launch an intensive faculty development program of seminars and training focused upon crosscutting child welfare, HIV/AIDS and substance abuse interventions; critical collaboration issues; improved services to racially and ethnically diverse families; and state of the art methodologies (2) provide methodological and computer support, training, and pilot project supports to foster the development of fundable research projects, especially involving junior faculty and doctoral students (3) support two initial pilot projects designed with interdisciplinary and community consultation, (4) seed a mini-grants program designed to further develop collaborative research projects among community practitioners, faculty from other disciplines within and beyond the University at Albany and SSW faculty, (5) design and implement an infrastructure evaluation system that identifies key lessons learned, informs subsequent stages of infrastructure and blended research development and (6) advance dissemination and communication through web-pages, listservs, research briefs, presentations and publications. ? ?
