Education and Youth Development - Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis

Chung receives Spencer Foundation grant to study postsecondary options in St. Louis

Roger — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 18:02:58 +0000

The 17�Թ�’s Social System Design Lab has received a $75,000 Spencer Foundation grant to study pathways from high school to careers in St. Louis. This collaborative vision planning grant will support a new research initiative focused on improving diverse education-to-career pathways for students in St. Louis. Principal investigator Saras Chung, a research associate professor and director of the Social System Design Lab, is leading this work in close partnership with diverse St. Louis community partners, including educators, business leaders and community nonprofits. This grant is a first step toward a potential larger award — up to $3.5 million — through the Spencer Foundation’s Transformative Research Grant program, which supports ambitious efforts to advance equity in education systems. The project...

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Alumna brings global Indigenous education expertise to Chicago classroom

admin — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 21:13:41 +0000

When Loreina Hsien graduated in August 2025 with dual master’s degrees in education from Arts & Sciences and social work from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, she expected to pursue a career in international development, policy advocacy or Indigenous cultural preservation. Instead, less than a year later, she found herself teaching English language arts at a middle school on Chicago’s West Side, where educators and students contend with long-standing challenges, including underinvestment, community violence, and high teacher turnover. The path was unexpected. But Hsien said the classroom became a place where years of experience in education, Indigenous initiatives, international relations, and trauma-informed practice converged. “I thought my path would continue through international cross-disciplinary work and Indigenous...

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Panel examines migration policy, vulnerability and survivor support

Fri, 08 May 2026 18:22:53 +0000

The Clark-Fox Policy Institute, Forced Migration Initiative and the Brown School Global Programs Office recently convened researchers and frontline practitioners working across the United States and internationally for “Borders, Vulnerability, and Protection: Rethinking Trafficking and Migration Policy,” a panel exploring the lived realities of migrants and trafficking survivors and the policy environments that influence their experiences. Hosted as part of the Clark-Fox Policy Institute’s Senior Policy Fellows initiative, the event reflected the institute’s commitment to connecting research, lived experience and policy to advance more effective and evidence-informed solutions for children, families and communities. The panel was led by Brown School faculty member and CFPI Senior Policy Fellow Mitra Naseh, assistant professor and founding director of the Forced Migration Initiative, and included social work scholar and researcher...

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Student wins Skandalaris Center funding for youth civic engagement venture

admin — Thu, 07 May 2026 17:54:32 +0000

A 17�Թ� student has won funding to expand a youth civic engagement initiative aimed at increasing public understanding of policy issues and supporting emerging leaders. Ella Dennis, who is pursuing a master’s degree in social work, was awarded an Innovation Grant through the 17�Թ� Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship during the Spring 2026 Skandalaris Venture Competition (SVC) on April 15. Dennis was named an Innovator Funding winner for her startup, the Alliance for Civic Engagement (ACE). The student-centered policy program provides hands-on mentorship and publication opportunities to young policy thinkers while producing accessible, nonpartisan policy briefs to cultivate a more informed public. “Too often, policy conversations feel inaccessible to the very people most affected by them, including young people,” Dennis said....

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New funding expands Brown School–linked suicide prevention initiative in Missouri schools

admin — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 22:06:45 +0000

A suicide prevention initiative that began at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis is expanding statewide under a new name, supported by new funding to strengthen how Missouri schools prevent and respond to student suicide risk. The program, now known as the Missouri Hope Policy Academy, has received support from the Missouri Suicide Prevention Network, in collaboration with the Missouri Behavioral Health Council, to develop curriculum and evaluate the scaled-up effort. The academy helps school districts build stronger suicide prevention, intervention and postvention policies. The initiative builds on work that began in 2019 at the Brown School, when faculty researchers sought to better understand how Missouri school districts approached suicide prevention and response at the policy level....

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Font testifies on adoption programs before House subcommittee

admin — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 18:09:32 +0000

Sarah Font, professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis and an expert on the child welfare system, testified March 26 before the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies on the topic of federal funding for adoption programs. The hearing, titled “Advancing Permanency in Child Welfare: Leveraging Federal Funding for Adoption Programs,” focused on improving adoption outcomes for children in foster care. Font told the subcommittee that states routinely fail to facilitate timely, safe and stable adoptions. She cited federal data showing children spend a median of 31 months in foster care before adoption, with some states averaging more than 45 months. According to the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting...

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Chung co-authors chapter in book on emerging trends in school social work

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 17:34:47 +0000

The social work profession is rapidly evolving, driven by the growth of online mental health services, renewed attention to its history, and an expanding role in policy advocacy, particularly for marginalized communities. A new book explores these shifts and their implications for school social work practice. Saras Chung, a research associate professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, co-authored a chapter in “Emerging Trends in School Social Work Practice: Responding to Rapid Change in Educational Ecosystems,” published by Oxford University Press. Chung contributed Chapter 13, “Public School Districts as Policy Battlegrounds.” Her chapter explores the ethical and practical challenges school social workers face under restrictive school policies. It offers guidance on advocacy, maintaining ethical standards, and...

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College remains a strong investment — even with student debt, study finds

Roger — Thu, 13 Nov 2025 15:38:15 +0000

Even after factoring in student loan payments, completing a college degree continues to pay off, according to new research from Washington University in St. Louis’ Center for Social Development (CSD) at the Brown School. The study, published Nov. 3 by the Brookings Institution, finds that degree holders earn on average $8,000 more per year than similar individuals who attended college but did not complete a degree — even after accounting for student loan payments. Without factoring in debt, the earnings premium rises to $10,400 per year. “Despite concerns about rising tuition costs and growing debt, the data show that higher education remains a worthwhile financial investment,” said Jason Jabbari, an assistant professor at the Brown School, faculty director of the Clark-Fox Policy...

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How racial stress shapes Black parents’ confidence in discussing race, study finds

admin — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 16:16:22 +0000

Black parents who experience racism in their daily lives may feel more confident discussing race and discrimination with their children, according to new research from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. 17�Թ� 75% of Black adults in the U.S. report facing some form of racial discrimination, according to the Pew Research Center. The study suggests that these experiences influence how parents approach conversations about race and racism with their children. Titled “Navigating Racial Stress: How Black Mothers’ and Fathers’ Trauma Shapes Confidence in Talking 17�Թ� Racism,” the study was published in the Journal of Black Psychology. It was led by Sheretta T. Butler-Barnes, a Dean’s Distinguished Professorial Scholar and professor at the Brown School. Researchers surveyed 681 Black parents,...

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Jabbari receives grant to study social mobility

Roger — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 18:38:35 +0000

Jason Jabbari, an assistant professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, has received a two-year $352,943 grant from Arnold Ventures to evaluate the impact of the Cristo Rey Network’s professional work-based learning model on social mobility and racial equity. The Cristo Rey Network, which serves low-income students, combines college-preparatory curriculum with a corporate work-study program in which students work one day per week at a local corporation. Jabbari, along with Shaun Dougherty of Boston College, Lauren Russell of the University of Pennsylvania, and Fahvyon Jimenez of Jimenez Strategy & Analytics, will work with a variety of administrative datasets to compare college and employment outcomes of Cristo Rey graduates to similar non-attending applicants. “By leveraging historical application...

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Faculty, PhD student receive grant to study adolescent girls in Ghana

Myra — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 19:33:30 +0000

Two members of the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis have received a 2025 Seed Grant from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR) to study sexual risk behaviors among adolescent girls in Ghana, drawing insights from both mothers and daughters. The grant recipients are Proscovia Nabunya, associate professor at the Brown School and director of the International Center for Child Health and Development (ICHAD); Portia Nartey, a third-year doctoral student in social work and research associate at ICHAD; and Juliet Iwelunmor, professor of medicine and associate director for global health and dissemination at 17�Թ� Medicine. Nartey will work under the mentorship of Nabunya and Iwelunmor. The research will focus on Ghana’s eastern region, which faces high poverty rates and...

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Brown School establishes endowed practicum award honoring Jeremy T. Goldbach’s legacy

admin — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 14:25:00 +0000

The Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis is raising funds to create a practicum award honoring Jeremy T. Goldbach, a faculty member and nationally recognized scholar on LGBTQ+ mental health who died of cancer in June at age 42. The Jeremy T. Goldbach Practicum Award will provide a paid practicum, helping reduce the financial barriers for a Master of Social Work student seeking field experience in areas aligned with Goldbach’s legacy. Goldbach joined the Brown School in 2021 after spending a decade at the University of Southern California. In 2022, he was named the first Masters & Johnson Distinguished Professor in Sexual Health and Education. He also served as associate dean for faculty affairs and directed the Sexuality, Health and Gender (SHAG)...

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Brown School researchers study AI’s role in pediatric cancer care

admin — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 14:00:00 +0000

Cindy Kang, a PhD student in public health sciences at the Brown School, has received a Summer Fellows grant from the St. Baldrick’s Foundation to conduct pediatric oncology research aimed at using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve outcomes for children diagnosed with cancer. This summer, Kang is working under the mentorship of Brown School Professor Kim Johnson to study how AI can help predict the risk of metastasis at the time of a child’s initial cancer diagnosis. Metastases account for a large portion of cancer-related deaths in children. The project seeks to promote earlier detection and reduce mortality, with particular attention to how socioeconomic determinants, such as neighborhood income and education levels, influence survival rates among children with metastatic cancer. They plan to combine AI...

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Brown School researchers to evaluate wealth-building pilot program in St. Louis

admin — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 22:16:41 +0000

Researchers from the Brown School’s Evaluation Center and Center for Social Development (CSD) will assess the impact of a new financial initiative aimed at closing the racial wealth gap in St. Louis. The team will collaborate with Mobility Capital Finance, Inc. (MoCaFi), a financial technology company, to conduct initial evaluation planning, baseline data collection, and a mixed-methods analysis of the Junior Bonds Pilot. Funded by the James S. McDonnell Foundation and Edward Jones, the pilot program will provide $5,000 in investment accounts—known as Junior Bonds—to 300 seventh-grade students in historically disadvantaged low- and moderate-income neighborhoods across St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis. The initiative was announced in a Jan. 23 op-ed in The St. Louis American. The funds will grow over time in...

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Researchers to study health impact of changes to school lunch, breakfast programs

Roger — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 21:41:38 +0000

Sarah Moreland-Russell, an associate professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, has received a four-year $2.65 million federal grant to understand how schools respond to changes in policy guiding school lunch and breakfast programs and how those responses affect health. The grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) aims to understand how schools followed changes to the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program nutrition guidelines, which offered schools some flexibility. Ultimately, researchers hope to learn the changes’ impact on student health and education outcomes. Federal policy guiding the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program has changed multiple times in the past six years, and the U.S. Department...

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