Connect, Communicate, Collaborate- Winter 2024

​Happy New Year. Before we dive into the new year here is a recap of what we all have been up to in the previous semester at CCRS. In this issue you can read about a new faculty member that has joined the CCRS team, a visiting scholar from South Africa who spent time with us, as well as new endeavors for us including the release of our first annual report in recent memory and the launch of a new “lunch and learn” lecture series. Along with this is the usual synopsis of activity and impact that each CCRS program has had, showing important work that we are doing to gain knowledge, inform policy and engage with underserved communities in Delaware and beyond. Finally, we also congratulate CCRS Policy Scientist Becky McColl on the arrival of her son, Liam.

New Faculty Joins CCRS

CCRS is pleased to have Katy Kaplan join the Biden School faculty as an Assistant Professor with a primary affiliation with CCRS. Dr. Kaplan comes most recently from Community Behavioral Health (CBH), the behavioral health managed care organization for the City of Philadelphia, where she was Director of Grants and Innovations. Her work spans a variety of areas such as integrated care, autism and behavioral health. Prior to joining CBH in January 2016, she was the Director of Human Services and Special Initiatives for Philadelphia Councilman-At-Large Dennis M. O’Brien, where she saw oversaw the Philadelphia Autism Project, a city-wide taskforce to improve services and supports for individuals impacted by autism. She also was an Investigator at Temple University’s Collaborative on Community Inclusion of Individuals with Psychiatric Disabilities. She has a Master’s in education and a PhD in social welfare, both from the University of Pennsylvania.

Katy has wasted no time in getting involved with a CCRS’s Medicaid and youth homelessness activities as she also continues with ongoing projects in Philadelphia and organized a recent symposium on parental mental health (more info below).

​CCRS Welcomes Visiting Scholar

CCRS hosted Bongekile Yvonne Charlotte Mvuyana as a visiting scholar from October 23 to November 22. Dr. Mvuyana is a Senior Lecturer (equivalent to Associate Professor in the U.S.) of Public Administration and Economics at Mangosuthu University of Technology in Umlazi (near Durban), South Africa. Her visit to the U.S. is through a Future Professors' Programme fellowship funded by South Africa’s federal Department of Higher Education and Training and the University of Johannesburg. Her research focuses on establishing human settlements in developing countries.

CCRS Releases Annual Report

​CCRS released an annual report of the center’s activities for Academic Year 2022-23, in which we report, program by program, the Center’s accomplishments and aims for the current year. It is available here. Check it out!

Lunch and Learn

​In November, CCRS launched a biweekly series of informal lunchtime presentation sessions which let staff present research in progress. In session 1, Stephen Metraux presented on studies he is writing up on municipal fines and fees in Wilmington and on probation reform in Delaware. In session 2, Mary Mitsdarffer and Erin Nescott presented on their work about LGBT youth and homelessness in Delaware. In session 3, visiting scholar BYC Mvuyana gave an overview of her research on human settlements in southern Africa. We have already outgrown the conference room we started out in, and are preparing for a full slate of presentations in the spring semester. Come join us.

Articles:

• Factors Associated with Antihypertensive Therapy Prescription in Youth Delaware Medicaid Recipients with Primary Hypertension Diagnosis, American Journal of Hypertension, Mary Joan McDuffie, Erin Nescott, et al.
• Factors Associated with Perceptions of Respect in Health Care Settings, Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, Mary Mitsdarffer, et al.

Presentations:

• CCRS faculty member Dr. Mary Mitsdarffer attended HHS Secretary Becerra's Hispanic Health Summit in Washington, DC on September 26th Learn more in Representation in Health Policy (Biden School Website / Mary Mitsdarffer)
• On October 19 Mary Mitsdarffer gave a virtual talk at Rutgers University’s Readings in Psychology and Current Topics in Prevention Science series. Her talk is titled “De donde eres? Latine identity and representation in health statistics.”
• Mary Mitsdarffer presented on November 12 at the Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA). As VP of the Latino Caucus, she moderated the roundtable, “Latino Caucus Celebrates 50 Years-Pa'lante (For Latina/o/x Advancement, Networking, Training, and Education)” and presented “The journey of the pa’lante- a reflection on success in supporting Latino/hispanic professionals and a discussion on existing needs and opportunities” in the roundtable session.

​ CCRS’ Katy Kaplan hosted a Research Symposium on Parental Behavioral Health on November 8 in Philadelphia. This event focused on mental health, substance abuse, disability, and maternal child health. See more about the event at 6ABC Visits the CBH Research Symposium (6ABC / CCRS)

Erin Nescott presented at GIS Day, a poster co-authored by Katie Gifford and Janice Barlow, that explored using PolicyMap to understand the distribution of children and children in poverty according to newly drawn legislative districts. PolicyMap is accessible through the UD Library.

KIDS COUNT in Delaware hosted a webinar on childhood nutrition on Wednesday, December 6th. Led by student Miranda Perez-Rivera, this webinar featured collaborative efforts to promote health equity for children. Representatives from key organizations, including Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), HMG@211, The Food Bank of Delaware, and the School Nutrition AgriCulture Program (SNAC), shared invaluable insights into how their initiatives contribute to the success and well-being of Delaware's children. For those who missed this event, you can catch the recording of the webinar by visiting the following link: Childhood Nutrition Webinar Recording.

CCRS’ Mary Mitsdarffer and Erin Nescott presented their research on Understanding and Estimating LGBT Youth's Experiences with Homelessness in Delaware: Phases 1 & 2 at a Center sponsored lunch and learn session on Tuesday, November 7th.

Mary Mitsdarffer’s paper Panel Paper: Does School Grade Span Affect Probability of Covid-19 Vaccination? Evidence from 6th Graders in New York City Public Schools presented by co-author (and Dean) at the APPAM Fall Research Conference in Atlanta. To see the complete list of presentations by all Biden School faculty and graduate students, click here.

CCRS Director Stephen Metraux presented his research on homelessness to a joint session of the Delaware State House and Senate Housing Committees. The session received local media coverage:

• Delaware's Housing Crisis Discussed in Joint Legislative Hearing (WBOC / Steve Metraux)
• Hearing on housing, homeless leads to promise of attention (Delaware Live / Steve Metraux)

Stephen Metraux, along with co-author Dennis Culhane, wrote an op-ed: “Solutions for Kensington don't begin or end with calling the National Guard” that appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on December 17.

Stephen Metraux, along with undergraduate student and summer fellow Hoda Bazzi, wrote a report: Fines & Fees Collection and Enforcement in Wilmington, Delaware funded by the Cities and Counties for Fine and Fee Justice. The report received coverage from several news outlets, including:

• Does Wilmington rely too much on parking enforcement revenue? These researchers say yes (Delaware Online / News Journal, December 7)
• Advocates push for more transparency and equity in Wilmington’s fines and fees (Delaware Public Media, December 4)
• Study sees major flaws in Wilmington parking system; city officials question findings (Delaware Business Now, December 5)

Stephen Metraux was quoted in the following media stories:

• As Portland faces decision on encampments, other U.S. cities also struggle to address homelessness (Kennebec Journal, November 20)
• Accused of begging inside Market Street restaurants, she was jailed for a year (Delaware Online / News Journal, September 20)

Erin Nescott presented data on children and youth homelessness at the first annual Delaware Convening on Youth Homelessness. This is part of a larger project to improve the unaccompanied youth count.

​Nonprofit Leadership Certificate Class of 2023

Congratulations to the Nonprofit Leadership Certificate Class of 2023! The program ran from August 31 through December 14, 2023. We had a wonderful group of 20 leaders representing 16 organizations making a difference in all 3 counties in Delaware and in PA! This cohort brought their enthusiasm and incredible gifts to one another and the program. They are poised and ready to take what they learned and keep making the world a better place. Many thanks to Healthy Communities Delaware and Elevate Delaware for providing scholarship opportunities for participants of the Nonprofit Leadership Certificate. The 2023 Cohort is pictured with Signe Bell, the Nonprofit Leadership program director (4 participants missing from the photo, but not from the experience). This program will run again in Fall of 2024.

Nonprofit Management Essentials

Registration is now open for the Nonprofit Management Essentials program which starts in February 2024. Gain an understanding of nonprofit organizations and the issues that managers face in this impactful and growing field. This course is designed for early career professionals working in the sector or mid career professionals transitioning from other sectors. Participants will be exposed to several areas of responsibility for nonprofit leaders including strategy, board governance, budgeting, fundraising, grant writing, managing employees and volunteers, and more. Classes are held via Zoom on Tuesday evenings. Learn more or register here.

SCHEDULE: Tuesdays 6:00-8:30 pm, February 13, 2024-May 21, 2024

FORMAT: ONLINE, includes both synchronous and asynchronous content

CONTACT: signe@udel.edu

COST: $1500

CDI Mid-Atlantic

We are pleased to announce that CDI Mid-Atlantic 2024 for Year 1, 2, and 3 participants will be held at the Sheraton Suites in Wilmington Downtown, DE from Monday, April 29th - Thursday, May 2nd. Registration will open to the public in mid-January and thanks to support from Healthy Communities Delaware, scholarships will be available to qualified participants who live and/or work in Delaware. This three-year certification is valuable for any community leader, providing practical and comprehensive community and economic development tools and leadership skills. This opportunity is perfect for nonprofit professionals, community and economic developers, city planners, and those interested in transforming their communities. This will be our first year offering all three years of CDI curriculum. Year 1 focuses on the foundations of community development and includes group simulations providing participants with a better understanding of the challenges and benefits of a community development approach. Year 2 places emphasis on the “nuts and bolts” of implementing economic development strategies, including business attraction, expansion and retention, and entrepreneurship. Lastly, Year 3 focuses on implementing the knowledge gained in previous years plus acquiring skills in leadership, marketing, and organizing the community development effort. For questions about CDI Mid-Atlantic, please reach out to Roger Hesketh, Director of CDI Mid-Atlantic, at rogergh@udel.edu.

​The 30th Class of Public Allies began their AmeriCorps terms of service this fall. Allies will be working to build the capacity of the following agencies this year:

• Black Mothers in Power
• CHILD, Inc.
• Community Collaboration of Delaware
• Delaware Black Chamber of Commerce
• Delaware Center for Horticulture
• Delaware State University
• Delaware Theatre Company
• District 22-D Lions Clubs
• Edgemoor Community Center dba Bellevue Community Center
• First State Squash, Inc.
• Green Building United
• Housing Alliance Delaware, Inc.
• Jefferson Street Center
• Jewish Family Services
• Mental Health Association in Delaware
• Native Roots Foundation
• Network Delaware Inc.
• Pathways to Success, Inc.
• State of Delaware dba Colonial School District
• Wilmington Sudbury School
• YWCA Delaware