Our Mission
The Center for Child and Family Policy is dedicated to improving the well-being of children and families through research, education, and engagement. We study factors that influence child outcomes, develop and test promising interventions, and advance evidence-based practices and policies that can inform change and unlock opportunities for all children and their families.
Recent News
Student Reflection on Conducting Research in Schools Panel 2025
December 12, 2025
CCFP News
On November 19, the School Research Partnership at Duke in the Center for Child and Family Policy hosted its annual “Conducting Research in Schools” panel discussion.
read more about Student Reflection on Conducting Research in Schools Panel 2025Student Reflection on Samuels Talk “Evidence-Informed Public Policy”
December 9, 2025
CCFP News
The Duke Center for Child and Family Policy recently welcomed guest speaker Bryan Samuels, executive director of Chapin Hill, as part of the Sulzberger Distinguished Lecture Series.
read more about Student Reflection on Samuels Talk “Evidence-Informed Public Policy”Reducing Food Insecurity Among Children in the U.S.
November 24, 2025
EconoFact
Food assistance programs specifically earmarked toward subsidizing household food costs such as SNAP and WIC have positive effects on infant health and school achievement and reduce behavioral problems in school, promoting a range of health and educational benefits in the short- and long-term.
read more about Reducing Food Insecurity Among Children in the U.S.Helping Children Thrive Through Climate Change: Strategies for Raising Resilient Youth in a Warming World
November 19, 2025
Child & Family Blog
This article dives into how climate change affects children’s physical and psychological well-being, highlighting 3 strategies to help combat this.
read more about Helping Children Thrive Through Climate Change: Strategies for Raising Resilient Youth in a Warming World
Featured Projects
Research Project
Baby’s First Years Study
Baby’s First Years is a pathbreaking study of the causal impact of monthly, unconditional cash gifts to low-income mothers and their children in the first three years of the child’s life. The cash gifts are funded through charitable foundations. The study will identify whether reducing poverty can affect early childhood development and the family processes that support children’s development.
learn more about Baby’s First Years Study
Research Project
Evaluation of the N.C. Resilience and Learning Model
The North Carolina Resilience and Learning Project is a partnership with the Public School Forum of North Carolina to promote and support trauma-informed schools across the state. The project team works closely with districts and schools to provide professional learning and ongoing coaching to meet school-specific needs and goals. Our work aims to create systems-level change by shifting the culture and mindset of an entire school so that staff begin to see a child’s behavior in the context of their life experiences, in consideration of possible trauma history or stress response system triggers.
learn more about Evaluation of the N.C. Resilience and Learning Model
Research Project
Survey of Health Trends (SEHAT)
Study of children’s and adolescents’ trajectories of mental health, immunization, and primary healthcare utilization in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. The research is being conducted in India, where one-sixth of the world’s population lives.
learn more about Survey of Health Trends (SEHAT)
Research Project
Reducing Structural Barriers in a School-Based System of Food Assistance to Reduce Inequality in Food Security and Child Outcomes
Project Description In the U.S., food insecurity (FI), or the inconsistent access to food of the quantity or quality needed to fuel a healthy life, is an important source of socioeconomic and racial inequality in youth outcomes. Decades of research finds that FI undermines youths’ physical, socioemotional, and cognitive development, and their academic outcomes as…
learn more about Reducing Structural Barriers in a School-Based System of Food Assistance to Reduce Inequality in Food Security and Child OutcomesFor Students
The Center offers a variety of ways for Duke students at every level to learn about child and family policy and become involved in original research.