WKU LifeSkills Center for Child Welfare Education and Research (LCCWEAR) recently received $5.8 million in external funding to expand critical services. With a mission to advance child welfare across Kentucky, LCCWEAR includes three new transformative initiatives in partnership with Kentucky’s Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

Child Welfare Analytics Collaborative
Dr. Austin Griffiths, Principal Investigator, will lead the Child Welfare Analytics Collaborative, a multifaceted partnership designed to strategically benefit the community using data science, while proactively seeking solutions to essential areas that impact the Commonwealth and its most vulnerable populations. This initiative encompasses a wide range of services from adoption-related services, out-of-home care-related services, child protective services, transitional services, clinical services, quality assurance-related services, prevention services, adult protective services, etc.

Integrated Family Trauma Treatment Clinic
Led by Principal Investigator Dr. Griffiths, alongside co-investigator Dr. Matt Woodward, the Integrated Family Trauma Treatment Clinic provides free access to cutting-edge intergenerational intervention for families with trauma to mitigate the risk of recurrence of childhood trauma and prevent out-of-home placement.

Training Resource Center
The Training Resource Center, also led by Dr. Griffiths, is a vital statewide partnership designed to support youth who are in foster care, provide specialized services to ensure their successful transition to adulthood, and improve the capacity of resource parents across the Commonwealth.

Dr. Griffiths shared, “LCCWEAR is committed to improving the lives of Kentucky’s most vulnerable children and families. These initiatives, supported by external funding, put us in a position to make substantial strides in child welfare.”

The expansion of LCCWEAR’s services includes 16 full-time staff members in the WKU College of Health and Human Services Community Health Sciences Complex at South Campus.

For more information, visit www.wku.edu/childwelfare