Enhancing Early Social Emotional Functioning Using a Relationship-Based Infant Mental Health Approach
This three-year project is beginning fall 2005 (2005-2008) and is funded by the Administration for Children and Families. I am serving as PI on the project and co-investigators include Drs. Esther Onaga, Hiram Fitzgerald, Laurie VanEgeren, Millie Horodynski, and Karen Shirer. Our community partners are Eightcap, Inc., and the Jackson Community Action Agency.

Despite the importance of healthy social-emotional development in the context of responsive relationships as a foundation for later learning, there are virtually no empirically based curricula available for working on relationship development with infants, toddlers, and their families. The development of these curricula is a critical next step to increase opportunities for infants/toddlers to reach their full potential. We intend to operationalize an existing conceptual curriculum driven by an Infant Mental Health framework, developed with a partner Early Head Start (EHS) program over the past 5 years, into manualized specific, curricular activities targeting social-emotional development. The long-term goal of this multiphase project is to (a) develop the curriculum, (b) evaluate its short-term effectiveness in building relationships and (c) examine its indirect effects on later readiness to learn, emphasizing its use with typically and atypically developing infants/toddlers across home-based and center-based programs in urban and rural settings. The primary objective of the current project addresses Phase I of the research plan in which we will develop, implement, and validate the manualized curriculum in collaboration with two home-based EHS programs (n=226 families). Using a quasi-experimental design, half of the home visitors at each site will implement the curriculum. Data collection methods will include focus groups, observation, parent and staff self-report, and child assessment. The expected outcomes include: a) development of an evidence-based curriculum, b) manualized curriculum guidelines, training, and implementation strategies, and d) report on the theoretical basis for the curriculum, including an annotated bibliography, and preliminary results on the implementation and developmental outcome assessments.

Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project/Pathways to Family Health
Michigan State University and its long-standing community partner, the Jackson Community Action Agency (CAA), constitute one of 17 research sites participating in the national evaluation of Early Head Start programs. The MSU research team is headed by Dr. Rachel Schiffman, now of the University of Wisconsin, and Dr. Hiram Fitzgerald, Assistant Provost for University Outreach and Engagement at Michigan State University. I am a co-investigator on this study, and PI on the Grade 5 Follow-Up Project.

The MSU/CAA team has a focus on family health in this research. We define family health broadly to include physical, social, and psychological markers of individual and family health. We are now tracking children as they move through early elementary school, examining social and academic outcomes, as well as developmental trajectories over time.

The main project is funded by a grant from the Administration on Children, Youth, and Families U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Data have been presented at national (e.g. National Early Head Start Research Conference, Society for Research in Child Development) and international conferences (International Society on Infant Studies, World Association for Infant Mental Health) and have been published in scholarly journals such as Infant Mental Health.

The MSU/CAA partnership has also yielded research in the area of continuous quality improvement. Data gathered from children and families served by CAA and its staff speak to the effectiveness of current program practices and continually help to shape a best practice model for CAA. Quality improvement efforts have resulted in several scholarly publications and conference presentations.

The Infant Feeding Project (TIFS)
This two-year project (Fall 2004-Fall 2006) is funded by Michigan Community Health/Medicaid Match. Drs. Millie Horodynski and Beth Olson are PIs. I am a co-investigator on this project, providing expertise in the area of infant development and theory.

The purpose of the project is to develop an intervention to improve infant feeding practices and to delay the introduction of solid foods until it is appropriate. In the first year of the study focus groups were conducted to identify feeding practices of Medicaid mothers with infants. Focus groups were also held with WIC staff and health practitioners to identify common concerns and issues relative to the early introduction of solids. Information gathered through the focus groups has been analyzed and is being used to inform the development of educational materials and the curriculum. In year two of the project, an intervention aimed at delaying the introduction of solid foods into an infant’s diet will be piloted and evaluated. A clinical protocol and user guide will also be developed for providers working with Medicaid mothers. Year 1 results have been presented at state and national conferences, and two manuscripts are underway.

Measuring Parent-Toddler Mealtime Behaviors in Diverse Populations
This three year project (Fall 2004-Fall 2007) is funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Millie Horodynski is PI. I am a co-investigator on the project, providing expertise in the area of infant and toddler development.

The purpose of this project is to develop, pilot, and validate a self-report measurement of family mealtime behaviors and a companion observation of mealtime behaviors. In Year 1 of the project, we conducted focus groups with Caucasian and with African American mothers to guide in the development of culturally sensitive measures. Now in our second year of the project, we are piloting the instruments. My interests center on the quality of parent-toddler interactions in the mealtime context.