For years, practitioners and policymakers have contended with an unrelenting social challenge: How can they use scientific research to protect society’s vulnerable children and families?
In a Sept. 12 talk, Charles E. Carter, Ph.D., deputy director and chief strategy officer of the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, said the science behind early childhood development and the core capabilities that caretakers need to excel in life, parenting, and work must be reflected in policy and practice to create new theories of change.
The talk, “The Science of Child Development: Implications for Policy and Practice,” was part of the James R. Dumpson Memorial Lecture on Family Well-Being, co-sponsored by the Graduate School of Social Service (GSS), Fordham School of Law, and the Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York.
The event celebrated the legacy of late activist and leading social crusader James R. Dumpson, New York City’s first black commissioner. Dumpson served as GSS dean from1967 to 1974. After he died in 2012 at the age of 103, the University endowed the James R. Dumpson Chair in Child Welfare Studies to honor his lifelong commitment to helping the poor.
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