Duke Center for Child and Family Policy

09/29/2026

Congratulations to our director, Dr. Jennifer Lansford, on receiving the Association for Psychological Science James McKeen Cattell Fellow award for a lifetime of outstanding contributions to the area of applied psychological research!

Dr. Lansford is a developmental psychologist whose international research has been groundbreaking in demonstrating how culture and family-level factors interact to influence human development. She will formally receive the award at the APS annual conference in Seattle in May 2027.

Read the full announcement: https://sanford.duke.edu/story/jennifer-lansford-receives-lifetime-contribution-award-aps/

08/06/2026

📅Mark your calendars, Sanford School of Public Policy students, faculty and staff! On Thursday, August 27, stop by the Sanford Lawn from 9-11am to cool off with LocoPops and spend a few minutes with our friendly therapy dog teams. What better way to kick off the FWOC than with a little sweetness and a lot of puppy love? 😉🐾

07/02/2026

The Center is currently recruiting adults aged 30-55 years who live in rural areas of eastern North Carolina, who are willing to participate in an interview and assessment about their health as part of the study Midlife Health in the Rural South.

All participants are compensated for time and effort.

Participation includes:

💬 One in-person interview (telephone or electronic link also available)
📈 Health measurements (such as blood pressure)
🧠 Memory activities
📲 Short follow-up surveys via text

Interested? Please visit https://duke.is/Midlife-Study to complete a short survey or email [email protected]. A team member will reach out to you if you are eligible to participate.

07/01/2026

The Center for Child and Family Policy welcomes JR DeShazo as he steps into his new role as the Joel L. Fleishman Dean of Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy. We look forward to the impact he'll make as we continue advancing the work of CCFP and Sanford’s mission. Read more ➡️ https://provost.duke.edu/news/jr-deshazo-appointed-dean-sanford-school-public-policy/

04/30/2026

“We are proud that our affiliated faculty are partnering on this incredibly important work to strengthen how families connect to vital care and support across North Carolina,” said Jennifer Lansford, Ph.D., director of the Duke Center for Child and Family Policy.

A research team co-led by our Lisa Gennetian, Ph.D, an applied economist, with colleagues Rushina Cholera, M.D., Ph.D, a pediatrician and epidemiologist, and Sarahn Wheeler, M.D., M.H.S., an OB-GYN who is a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, has received a grant from the Pritzker Children’s Initiative to improve maternal and early childhood health across North Carolina. Learn more: https://madeforthis.duke.edu/stories/transformative-grant-empowers-duke-to-launch-statewide-maternal-and-child-health-initiative/
Sanford School of Public Policy

04/10/2026

📢 Attention researchers and scholars! Headed to the 2026 Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA) Biennial Meeting next week?

If so, be sure to check out these poster presentations on Friday, April 17 and meet our colleagues Laura Gorla, Ph.D., Ann T. Skinner, Ph.D., and Jennifer Lansford, Ph.D.!

Adolescents’ future orientation across low, middle, and high-income countries: The role of parenting
(Poster Session 5, Poster No. 26, 12:30pm ET)

The Relationship Between Adolescents’ Activity Patterns and Anxiety in the Aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic
(Poster Session 7, Poster No. 18, 4pm ET)

Mother, father, and youth perspectives on defining adulthood in 9 countries
(Poster Session 7, Poster No. 25, 4pm ET)

03/12/2026

Cohort 8 of the Early Childhood Policy Academy has concluded, but the conversations and collaboration sparked over the past few days will continue to shape policy conversations across states.

Participants explored strategies to strengthen early childhood systems, support educators, and expand access to high-quality care — grounded in research, real-world experience, and shared commitment to children and families.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this convening meaningful and impactful. We look forward to continuing this work together.

Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation, Duke Center for Child and Family Policy, Sanford School of Public Policy

02/18/2026

The Duke Center for Child and Family Policy is thrilled to announce a transformative $10.5 million gift from Bukhman Philanthropies to support new center-based research on some of the most pressing issues facing children and families today: https://madeforthis.duke.edu/stories/duke-university-receives-10-5-million-to-fund-groundbreaking-child-and-family-policy-research/

Duke University
Sanford School of Public Policy

01/23/2026

01/09/2026

Duke Sanford students worked with NC Public Schools on a visionary mission: to make North Carolina’s public schools the nation’s best by 2030. Professor Jenni Owen’s public policy students worked with NC Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice “Mo” Green, his team, and other partners throughout the fall semester to advance the NC Department of Public Instruction’s Achieving Educational Excellence strategic plan.

Not just an academic group project, this was a collaborative opportunity to solicit input, conduct policy analysis, and generate recommendations for a state government agency that is striving to improve the lives of children across N.C. One Sanford student reflected that “this course showed me that thoughtful teamwork is not just an academic requirement but a core professional skill.”

"It was an honor to work with Duke University Masters of Public Policy students on their research projects to support Achieving Educational Excellence, the strategic plan for North Carolina's public schools to be the best in the nation by 2030," said Superintendent Mo Green. "The learning went both ways--the students identified valuable potential policies and initiatives and peer-reviewed research to support the action items in the plan, while they learned how their efforts can directly inform our state's education agency decision-making."

Thanks to Superintendent Green and the NCDPI team for their mentoring and guidance and to the Sanford Master of Public Policy students for their hard work and real-world policy insights.