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Build Research-Based Family Policy
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| FAMILY DATA | |
| FAMILY IMPACT | |
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The Policy Institute for Family Impact Seminars provides policymakers and professionals with nonpartisan, solution-oriented research and a family impact perspective on many of the complex issues being debated in state legislatures across the country. The Institute was founded in 1999 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison/Extension and continues the family impact mission of the federal Family Impact Seminar, which operated from 1976 to 1998 in Washington DC.
The Institute has resources for policymakers, practitioners, and others who work to (1) connect research and policymaking, and (2) bring a family perspective to research, policy, and practice.
- To assist policymakers, the Institute disseminates research and policy reports that provide a family impact perspective on current policy issues.
- To assist those who enact and implement policies and programs, the Institute has available procedures for conducting a family impact analysis and a number of checklists for examining how responsive policies, programs, and institutions are to family well-being.
- To assist professionals who want to create better dialogue between researchers and policymakers, the Institute provides technical assistance on what it takes to connect with policymakers, and how to establish Family Impact Seminars in their own state.
- To assist those who work with policymakers, the Institute conducts original research with policymakers on how they use research in their decisions and with professionals on what knowledge, skills, and attitudes are needed to communicate timely, high-quality information to policymakers in an accessible format.
The Institute connects research and state policymaking in several ways including the following:
- Using the Family Impact Seminar model, our affiliates around the country are bringing research and evaluations on family issues to state policymakers in 27 states and the District of Columbia.
- We are building a network of professionals who work with policymakers to facilitate dialogue on strategies for bringing research to bear on policymaking.
- We train professionals interested in working more closely with policymakers.
- We publish original studies, write books, and conduct analysis on how to make policymakers more research-sensitive and professionals more policy-sensitive.
- Our website serves as a repository of all Family Impact Seminar briefing reports and newsletters produced in 28 states and the District of Columbia.
The Institute promotes a family perspective in state policymaking several ways:
- We provide technical assistance to professionals conducting Family Impact Seminars for state policymakers in their state capitols.
- Our website serves as a clearinghouse of information about what a family perspective is, how to conduct a family impact analyses, and what tools and resources are available.
- Our website facilitates resource exchange for instructors who teach about family policy and train the next generation of family policy professionals.
The Policy Institute is directed by Karen Bogenschneider. We are currently funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the William T. Grant Foundation. Past supporters include the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
Policy Institute Board of Directors
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| Tom Corbett, Senior Scientist Institute for Research on Poverty Madison, WI |
Jennifer Noyes, Researcher Institute for Research on Poverty Madison, WI |
| Diane Cushman, Executive Director National Council on Family Relations Minneapolis, MN |
Theodora Ooms, Couple and Marriage Policy Consultant Bethesda, MD |
| Mary Fairchild, Senior Fellow State Services Division National Conference of State Legislatures Denver, CO |
Robert Pietrykowski, Nonprofit Organizations Consultant Milwaukee, WI |
| Jane Grinde, Director Family-School-Community Partnerships Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Madison, WI |
Carol Roessler, Administrator State and Local Finance Wisconsin Department of Revenue Madison, WI |
| Ruth Massinga, Former President Casey Family Programs Seattle, WA |
Timothy Smeeding, Director Institute for Research on Poverty Madison, WI |
| Kristin Anderson Moore, Senior Scholar Child Trends Washington, DC |
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Minnesota capitol photo courtesy of Dan Oldre, ©2005.