USF College of Behavioral & Community Sciences

October 27 - November 2, 2019

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Tuesday, 10/29
Mac Shack
Two CBCS Faculty Receive USF Outstanding Research Achievement Awards

Dr. Bryanna Fox and Dr. Kathryn Hyer were among 12 USF researchers received Outstanding Research Achievement Awards. These annual awards honor those whose research sets the standard on a national and international scale and are selected by the members of the USF System Senate Research Council. The council reviews nominations for the award from USF deans, department chairs, and center and institute directors. Each awardee received $2,000 with the award in recognition of their achievements.

Dr. Fox is an Associate Professor in Criminology. She studies the predictors of criminal behavior and uses this knowledge to develop evidence-based strategies to help law enforcement prevent and solve crimes. In 2018, Dr. Fox authored 12 peer-reviewed articles featured in top-ranked journals including Psychological Bulletin, Law & Society Review, Journal of Criminal Justice, Sexual Abuse, and Crime & Delinquency. She also published a research-based book, two book chapters, and co-authored an op-ed in the Tampa Bay Times. Also, she was awarded a $700,000 U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance grant to develop a new strategy to reduce violence and opioid offenses in Pasco County. Dr. Fox was elected Executive Counselor of the Developmental & Life-Course Division of the American Society of Criminology, and serves on the editorial board of five prominent journals in her field. In 2018, she was a featured expert on television networks FOX, A&E, NPR, and in various national and international media outlets.

Dr. Hyer is an international expert on evaluating quality across long-term care settings. Following her October 2017 testimony before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging regarding hospitalizations and mortality outcomes in nursing homes after hurricane evacuations, she received a $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to examine nursing home and assisted living residents' health outcomes resulting from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Her research included interviews with administrative staff, as well as sophisticated storm tracking and statistical approaches. Dr. Hyer also is the principal investigator on a 2018 U.S. Department of Health Resources and Services Administration grant of nearly $782,000 to enhance the training of the geriatric healthcare workforce. In 2018, she also facilitated grant proposals by junior USF researchers funded by the Donaghue Foundation and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Hyer was selected as president of the prestigious Gerontological Society of America for a three-year term beginning in 2018.

Dr. Karen Berkman, CARD-USF Executive Director, Receives Joe Sanchez Jr. Leadership Award

On Friday, October 11th at the 31st Annual Mayor's Alliance for Persons with Disabilities Awards Luncheon, Dr. Karen Berkman, Executive Director of CARD, was presented the Joe Sanchez Jr. Leadership Award. She was nominated for her amazing leadership of CARD-USF and The Learning Academy for the past 15½ years and the wonderful initiatives and projects developed during her time:

The Mayor's Alliance for Persons with Disabilities, under the auspices of the City of Tampa Mayor's Office, serves as an advisory/advocacy group in order to represent the interests of persons with disabilities in obtaining an independent and fulfilling life.

3 Rightpath Faculty Invited to Join Editorial Board of JEP

The Journal of Educational Psychology (JEP) is a top-tier, peer reviewed journal published by the American Psychological Association. With a current impact factor of 5.18 and a 5-year impact factor of 6.29, JEP is one of the highest ranked educational psychology journals (3 of 59). Three CFS faculty from the Rightpath Research & Innovation Center were recently invited by the incoming Editor, Dr. Pani Kendeou, to join the editorial board of JEP. As Consulting Editors, Dr. Maria Carlo will draw on her expertise in bilingualism, biliteracy, and bilingual education, and Dr. Jeffrey Williams draw on his expertise in research methodology and statistics. Dr. Jason Anthony, Director of the Rightpath center, will begin his two-year term as Associate Editor in January of 2020. Congratulations to these CBCS faculty, who support advancement of impactful research and who strive to reduce educational disparities.

 

Research Roundup

Christopher Groeber (SW)
DCF Consultation and Supervisory Support
Sponsor: Florida Dept of Children & Families
7/1/2019-6/30/2020
Amount: $34,880

Engage in consultative and evaluative work with the Central Region of the Florida Department of Children and Families to provide a comprehensive review of their training and support system for all levels of DCF staff. Work with trainers and administrators to research and develop content that is cutting edge and current that will ultimately focus on recruitment and retention of quality staff.

Leokadia Rohrer (CFS)
Independent Assessment of the Florida Medicaid NET Program
Sponsor: Florida Agency for Health Care Administration
7/20/2017-12/31/2021
Amount: $66,485

The Florida Medicaid Non-Emergency Transportation (NET) program provides transportation services to ensure access to medical care for beneficiaries who are unable to drive, cannot afford to own or maintain a vehicle, or do not have access to affordable transportation. Most beneficiaries receive these transportation services through a managed care plan, but vendors also provide these services to individuals who are excluded from participating in managed care or who are authorized to voluntarily opt out of managed care. The purpose of this study is to evaluate three aspects of the NET program for individuals who are not enrolled in a managed care plan: access to services, quality and efficiency of services, and cost effectiveness of services. This study is a continuation of the NET program evaluation that began in 2016.

Mark Engelhardt (MHLP)
Criminal Justice, Mental Health, & Substance Abuse Technical Assistance Center (CJMHSA TAC)
Sponsor: Florida Dept of Children & Families
7/1/2016-6/30/2021
Amount: $2,500,000

In 2007, the Florida legislature authorized and funded the Criminal Justice, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Reinvestment Grant Program and designated the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute (FMHI), as a site for the Criminal Justice, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Technical Assistance Center (CJMHSA TAC). In 2016, the PI and Director of the CJMHSA TAC, Mark Engelhardt, M.S., MSW, ACSW was awarded the most recent contract by the Florida Department of Children and Families Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health in the amount of $2,500,000 for five years ($500,000 per year). The CJMHSA TAC provides technical assistance, expert guidance, and training to grantees across the State of Florida regarding best practices for programs that aim to serve individuals with mental health and/or substance use issues involved with or at risk of involvement with criminal justice systems. More information about the TAC can be found at www.floridatac.org.

Robert Lutfi (CSD)
Individual Differences Listening in Noise in Clinically Normal-hearing Adults
Sponsor: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
7/15/2019-6/30/2024
Amount: $2,830,772

Young adults with normal audiometric thresholds vary widely in their ability to listen in everyday noisy environments. Many perform as poorly in studies as their age-matched, hard-of-hearing counterparts. The variation challenges the conventional view of hearing loss, which assumes the audiogram to be the gold standard for evaluating hearing. This proposal represents a new effort to understand this variation. Specific aims are to (1) determine the relative contribution of peripheral and central processes and their interaction to individual differences, (2) account for general patterns of listener behavior from 'individual listening styles' and (3) develop a low-parameter computational model for predicting individual differences across diverse listening tasks. It is expected that the knowledge gained from these studies will inform efforts that seek to improve the evaluation, classification and treatment of what is a debilitating problem for many, the challenge of listening in everyday noise.

ABA Dissertation Defense

Title: "A Comparison of Different Modeling Techniques to Establish Token Reinforcers in Classroom Settings"
Student: Spencer Gauert
Date: Monday, October 28, 2019
Time: 3:00pm
Location: MHC 1503

ABA Thesis Defense

Title: "Comparison of Two Conditioning Procedures on Increasing Vocalizations in Children with Autism"
Student: Sydni Chance
Date: Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Time: 11:30am
Location: MHC 2324

 

Title: "Using Video Modeling to Teach Trial Based Functional Analysis"
Student: Breana Pauline
Date: Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Time: 12:00pm
Location: MHC 2301

CBCS In the News

Researchers Host Immigration Discussion in Tampa
Bay News 9-Tampa
as immigration policies continue to change in the us, usf experts are digging deeper. it has risen to the top as one of the top issues that a lot of our politicians are discussing.

 

Immigration Policies Effect Mental Health Of Undocumented Immigrants, Researcher Says
WUSF News
Elizabeth Aranda, a sociology professor at USF, presented data from the project. Information was gathered from immigrants between 18 and 30-years-old during the years after President Trump rescinded DACA.

 

Number of kids 'Baker Acted' keeps rising; is there any solution?
TCPalm
Acted, according to figures from the Baker Act Reporting Center at the University of South Florida. By 2017-2018, that figure had soared to ...

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