From the Office of Public Affairs | http://www.news.ku.edu
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KU lands grant to help transform foster system, keep children in the home
LAWRENCE — Researchers with the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare and Center for Public Partnerships & Research received a five-year, $3.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families to implement the Universal Prevention for Strong and Thriving Families, or Family Strong project. They will work with the Kansas Department for Children and Families and three community partner agencies to bolster universal community-based programs in southeast Kansas.
KU partners with Topeka Public Schools to improve instruction for English, dual language learners
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Center for Educational Opportunity Programs (CEOP) has been awarded a five-year, $2.44 million project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition, to serve 125 educators, 450 students and 100 families through a partnership with Topeka Public Schools
School of Engineering to honor 4 alumni with Distinguished Engineering Service Award
LAWRENCE – Four alumni from the University of Kansas School of Engineering will receive Distinguished Engineering Service Awards at a Nov. 4 ceremony. The recipients are Jill MacDonald Boyce, Christine-Ehlig Economides, Ronaldo T. “Nick” Nicholson and Richard E. Smith, who will be recognized for their outstanding contributions to the engineering profession and to society.
Full stories below.
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Contact: Mike Krings, KU News Service, 785-864-8860, [email protected], @MikeKrings
KU lands grant to help transform foster system, keep children in the home
LAWRENCE — Researchers at the University of Kansas have received a $3.7 million grant to help transition from a child welfare system that reacts to problematic home situations to one that provides resources and meets needs to prevent children from being removed from their families.
Researchers in KU’s School of Social Welfare and Center for Public Partnerships & Research received a five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families to implement the Universal Prevention for Strong and Thriving Families, or Family Strong project. They will work with the Kansas Department for Children and Families and three community partner agencies to bolster universal community-based programs in southeast Kansas.
The goal of the project is to demonstrate a model of a community support system that addresses and alleviates family stressors before they become crises that result in contact with the child welfare system. The grant is one of six to establish Family Support through Primary Prevention sites across the country.
Key partners of Family Strong include Kansas Legal Services, Kansas Children’s Service League and the Family Resource Center (The Center) in Pittsburg. The project will initially work with community partners to determine strengths and gaps in existing systems, build enhanced partnerships, refine plans to ensure alignment with the goals of the community, and introduce new services and supports to assist families in need.
“The project is designed to be responsive to the needs of southeast Kansas and to build on the many strengths of the region to ensure the system of community-based support for children and families is comprehensive, connected, equitable and accessible to families,” said Kaela Byers, associate research professor of social welfare and principal investigator.
Children are often removed from families when adequate supports, resources and training could help address issues that initiate family contacts with agencies like Child Protective Services, according to researchers. Partners will begin by expanding and introducing new services at the Family Resource Center. The Center will serve as a hub for these services, also reaching into other surrounding counties in the region. For example, the team plans to expand the existing Family Response Advocate program to five additional counties, providing universal case management services to resolve needs before they escalate.
Through the program, families will receive community-based support and service navigation from response advocates, including help resolving crises, avoiding evictions, paying bills and meeting other basic needs. The Center will also introduce a new preventative legal services program, providing access to free, quality legal consultation services to navigate issues such as Medicaid eligibility, housing insecurity and other legal needs affecting children and families.
Family Strong will also work with families and communities to reduce stigma around help seeking and accessing support. The team will promote the use of the 1-800-CHILDREN warm line, connecting families to support services and directing calls for basic needs to community agencies rather than Child Protective Services. This will be paired with a grassroots outreach and public health campaign promoting support for children and families as a community value and supporting the statewide efforts to become a mandated supporter state.
“As a family experiences crisis, there is a potential for ripple effects downstream, and those ripples can often be assessed as neglect,” said Meghan Cizek, assistant director of KU’s Center for Public Partnerships & Research and co-investigator.
Additionally, the project will boost the Integrated Referral and Intake System, known as IRIS, in southeast Kansas, a closed-loop referral system that connects family-serving agencies to streamline the referral and service coordination experience for families and ensure referrals result in service connections. Researchers described the process as a “warm handoff” between providers, ensuring families are connected with someone who can address their needs, instead of simply providing a phone number.
“We’re looking to change the philosophy of how we respond to family needs to reacting with support and sharing resources,” Byers said.
Cizek added “We want to change that, and our partners will help spread the message in a grassroots way. No one should be punished for being a family struggling to make ends meet. We want to keep families together.”
As a requirement of the federal demonstration, Family Strong includes an evaluation of the project’s initiatives to determine their effectiveness and expand the knowledge base about proactive approaches as the norm in family services. Jared Barton, assistant research professor at KU and lead evaluator of Family Strong, said, “The Family Strong initiative presents an exciting opportunity to understand the effectiveness of and build evidence for universal prevention programs supporting the well-being of children and families in a comprehensive way. Not only are we are examining outcomes for individual families, we’ve also designed the evaluation to examine its impact at changing systems, organizations and community norms.”
The team will also identify community members to serve on a steering committee, including people who have successfully accessed resources to address family crises. These key partners will be integral to every aspect of the Family Strong project, from planning to disseminating the results.
“Meaningful involvement of our partnering communities, including families with lived experience, is crucial to achieving our overarching project goal of transforming the Kansas child welfare system. Not only will we be illuminating families’ experiences within the system, but we will also produce high-quality and truly relevant research” said Whitney Grube, KU associate researcher and co-investigator.
The project will partner with Allen, Bourbon, Cherokee, Crawford, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho and Wilson counties. Kansas Department for Children and Families data has shown that southeast Kansas has disproportionate levels of out-of-home foster care placement for children compared to the state population. Rates have also increased nationwide in recent years.
“The Family Strong project will allow us to be more intentional in developing systems and community structures that prioritize prevention over placement, keeping children and families together,” said Becci Akin, associate professor and co-investigator.
“Every child deserves the opportunity to be part of a permanent and loving family,” said U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran. “I’m pleased to see KU leading the nation in creating innovative approaches to produce better futures for children in the foster care system.”
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Contact: Laura Kingston, Center for Educational Opportunity Programs, 785-864-3415, [email protected], @CEOPmedia
KU partners with Topeka Public Schools to improve instruction for English, dual language learners
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Center for Educational Opportunity Programs (CEOP) has been awarded a five-year, $2.44 million project to serve 125 educators, 450 students and 100 families through a partnership with Topeka Public Schools (TPS).
Funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of English Language Acquisition, Supporting Educators, Math Instructors, and Language Learners for Advancement (SEMILLA) employs a robust system of professional development for educators within Topeka Public Schools who work closely with English learners and dual language learners. The goal is to empower educators to help improve academic outcomes for language learners in and out of the classroom.
This is not the first partnership between CEOP and TPS focused on educational access and equity. Under the leadership of Ngondi Kamatuka, CEOP director, the center has cultivated a longstanding relationship through several programs that serve Topeka students, including GEAR UP, TRIO Upward Bound, TRIO Upward Bound Math & Science and TRIO Educational Opportunity Centers.
“This will be a true partnership between KU and Topeka Public Schools,” Kamatuka said. “When you talk about access to educational success, access isn’t enough if you don’t also have support. We’ll work with several partners, including the TPS director of English Learner and Dual Language Programs and colleagues at Kansas State University, to expand opportunities for educators to enhance their pedagogical skill sets to better serve language learners.”
The SEMILLA grant provides $480,000 a year for five years to support five key components of the grant including:
1. assist in-service teachers who take graduate courses toward their English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) endorsement;
2. provide outreach services to engage families in the development of their children’s biliteracy skills;
3. to implement an evidence-based math software in middle schools;
4. to increase the number of high school students receiving a Kansas Seal of Biliteracy certification before graduation; and
5. to engage paraprofessionals in regular professional development.
SEMILLA extends a partnership with Kansas State University’s Center for Intercultural and Multilingual Advocacy, who will provide coursework for Topeka Public Schools educators. Program liaison Shabina Kavimandan said, “We are excited to partner with CEOP once again to improve language learners’ academic and linguistic outcomes by providing a rigorous curriculum in ESOL courses and PRAXIS preparation for in-service educators.”
Collectively, CEOP and its KSU partners have more than 30 years of experience working on Office of English Language Acquisition grants in the state of Kansas.
Additionally, SEMILLA will establish a collaborative effort between CEOP and TPS to increase the number of students receiving the Kansas Seal of Biliteracy. This is part of a strategic plan designed by Topeka Public School Board and Superintendent Tiffany Anderson to increase awareness, access and attainment of the certification awarded to high school juniors and seniors who demonstrate proficiency in English and in another world language. Attainment of the Kansas Seal of Biliteracy goes on students’ transcripts, thereby demonstrating their career and college readiness. CEOP and Topeka Public Schools intend to support at least 100 students in this endeavor throughout the grant period.
“Enhancing awareness and preparation for the Kansas Seal of Biliteracy supports our goal to prepare students for postsecondary opportunities,” said Anita Curry, director of TPS English Learner Programs.
SEMILLA is a nod to Topeka Public Schools’ English learners and their home language. Semilla, or “seed” in Spanish, serves as an analogy for the project’s objectives, which, through the partnership, will grow and bear fruit for students, educators and families throughout the grant cycle, according to organizers.
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Contact: Cody Howard, School of Engineering, 785-864-2936, [email protected], @kuengineering
School of Engineering to honor 4 alumni with Distinguished Engineering Service Award
LAWRENCE – Four alumni from the University of Kansas School of Engineering will receive the school’s highest award in a ceremony set for 6 p.m. Nov. 4.
Jill MacDonald Boyce, Christine-Ehlig Economides, Ronaldo T. “Nick” Nicholson and Richard E. Smith will receive the Distinguished Engineering Service Award (DESA), which is awarded to individuals who have maintained close association with the school and have made outstanding contributions to the engineering profession and to society.
Boyce and Smith won the award in 2020 but will be recognized along with the 2021 winners after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of last year’s ceremony.
“Our four awardees embody the spirit of the Distinguished Engineering Service Award. They are respected leaders with amazing stories of ingenuity and resiliency. Their contributions to the engineering profession and the university are exceptional and inspirational. The awardees help elevate the stature of KU Engineering. We are proud to call them Jayhawk engineers,” said Arvin Agah, dean of engineering.
The School of Engineering Advisory Board has given the Distinguished Engineering Service Award, the highest honor bestowed by the school, annually since 1980. The award honors KU engineering alumni or engineers who have maintained a close association with the university and for outstanding contributions to the profession of engineering and society.
The award is made on the basis of an individual’s contribution to the public good, governmental service or the educational system, or contributions to the theories and practices of engineering, research and development in new fields of engineering or direction of an organization that has made exceptional contributions in design, production and development.
About the honorees:
2020 Winners
Jill MacDonald Boyce
With more than a quarter-century of experience in video compression and standardization, Jill Boyce is recognized as a global leader in modern video coding standards, making important contributions to the efficient delivery of video across multiple platforms. Her work has been a critical in fueling the growth and ubiquity of the media streaming industry.
Boyce earned her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from KU in 1988, and in 1990 she received her master’s degree in electrical engineering with an emphasis in communications and signal processing from Princeton University.
From complex features that viewers take for granted to those that are so seamless they go unnoticed, Boyce has had a hand in developing an estimated 90% of the coding formats utilized in video playback today. Many of the standards she developed are the basis for all major video applications and are embedded in hardware or software in all video cameras, smartphones and online video applications, such as YouTube and Netflix.
Boyce recently founded a new startup company, Vimmerse, where she is the CEO. Vimmerse is developing a platform and tools for creation and storage of immersive video, which allows viewers to navigate within a remote 3D scene.
Richard E. Smith
Rich Smith has helped transform Henderson Engineers into a global engineering and building systems design powerhouse. He’s led remarkable growth while fostering a company culture that puts people first and embraces creativity, flexibility and diversity.
Smith earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from KU in 1985 and his master’s degree in architectural engineering from KU in 1991. He joined Henderson Engineers as director of engineering in 1994 and has been the firm’s president and CEO since 2013.
In the mid-1990s when Smith joined Henderson, approximately 80% of the firm’s work was retail. Smith has been instrumental in helping the company grow and diversify into other sectors, including K-12 and higher education, health care, sports and recreation, grocery, workplace, restaurant, warehouse and distribution.
Smith has played a pivotal role in business development efforts that have helped land some of the largest projects in company history. This includes the new single terminal at Kansas City International Airport and SoFi Stadium, a revolutionary mega mixed-use entertainment district in Hollywood Park, California, that is home to the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams.
2021 Winners
Christine Ehlig-Enconomides
With contributions to the development and application of technology in the field of petroleum engineering, and a distinguished track record of leadership in academic and professional settings, Christine Ehlig-Economides is recognized as one of the nation’s most accomplished and influential figures in her field.
She organized and helped establish new petroleum engineering departments at two universities. She developed methods of analyzing well test data from multilayer reservoirs that became the worldwide standard for the oil and gas industry. She has long advocated for women and underrepresented minorities in the field. Her career is decorated with some of the most prestigious awards in engineering, including induction into the National Academy of Engineering in 2003.
After graduating from Rice University in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, Ehlig-Economides attended KU, where she earned a master’s degree in mathematics education in 1974 and a master’s degree in chemical engineering in 1977. She went on to Stanford University and earned her doctorate in 1979 — her dissertation remains a landmark contribution to the theory and practice in a dominant technology in petroleum reservoir engineering, pressure transient test analysis.
Ehlig-Economides currently serves as a professor and Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished University Chair at the University of Houston.
Ronaldo T. “Nick” Nicholson
Ronaldo “Nick” Nicholson has established a sterling reputation as a leader with a unique ability to bring stakeholders together and build consensus on large, complex transportation challenges. Over his career spanning nearly 40 years, Nicholson has personally supervised and mentored many engineers who have become industry leaders and agency administrators in various public works departments around the country.
Nicholson earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from KU in 1983 and a master’s degree in structural engineering from George Washington in 1991. He spent more than 30 years in the public sector, working for the Federal Highway Administration, Fairfax County Department of Public Works, the Virginia Department of Transportation and the District of Columbia Department of Transportation. He accepted a vice president position at Parsons Transportation Group Inc. in 2014.
As vice president and senior program/operations manager at Parsons Transportation Group, Nicholson leads the company’s highway and bridge design teams in Virginia and Washington, D.C. He supervises more than 70 employees and has contributed directly to technically challenging and politically sensitive infrastructure improvement projects, such as the Woodrow Wilson Bridge replacement over the Potomac River, transformation of the South Capitol Street Corridor and re-introduction of DC Streetcar in northeast Washington, D.C.
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