As the pandemic challenges all students seeking to succeed in college, a new study examines the barriers that young people in foster care have long faced, and the supports that make a difference for them. These findings guide the way to the policies and practices that will benefit all youth in these difficult times.
Calls for criminal justice reform ring loud in Colorado. Overburdening of the corrections system is a part of the problem, driven in large part by the state’s
rate of recidivism. Half of people convicted of crimes in Colorado return to the criminal justice system within three years.
Seeking a deeper understanding of the issue, researchers at the University of Denver partnered with the Colorado Division of Probation Services. Their study examined the significant link between recidivism and traumatic brain injury (TBI).
This project applies lessons learned from the 2Gen Child Support Services randomized controlled trial and implementation study to create implementation guides tailored to county size, refine the case management procedures, and update the fidelity rubric.
Multisystemic Therapy (MST), a community-based intervention targeting youth ages 12-17 who are involved or at high risk of involvement in the juvenile justice system, has a proven record of success. It is delivered by trained teams of therapists over the course of 3-5 months with multiple home-visits per week. This project extends MST to regions of the state where the service was previously unavailable.
Colorado ranks among the lowest in the nation in terms of the percentage of the population receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) with about 60% of eligible residents participating. This study examines the impact of SNAP enrollment on healthcare costs–particularly emergency room visits and hospitalizations–among Colorado residents enrolled in Medicaid. If the study identifies substantial cost savings, it will provide a fiscal reason for increasing enrollment in SNAP among those who are eligible.