Faculty and Staff Grants From January 2025

Prenatal sleep and pathways to offspring cardiometabolic risk

• Elysia Davis, College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
• Funder: National Institutes of Health
• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the US, with significant disparities in by socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity. The developmental origins of CVD begin early in life and even before birth. Despite the known importance of early life for CVD risk, the processes and pathways by which early life experiences shape CVD risk remain poorly understood. This proposal tests the hypothesis that prenatal sleep, a critical circadian regulator influencing numerous physiological systems during pregnancy, is an understudied pathway to poor child cardiovascular health.

Helping Guardians Navigate Youth Suicide Risk: Development and Piloting of a Brief Digital Intervention

• Kathryn Fox, College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
• Funder: National Institutes of Health
• Youth suicide is a significant public health concern. Paralleling adolescents’ increased use of the internet and social media, digital monitoring apps emerged to monitor youth, including by alerting parents to their child’s potential suicide risk. This project will test a digital single session intervention (SSI) to support parents in responding effectively to suicide risk alerts, seeking to decrease child suicide risk.

GROC Opioid Abatement

• Meredith Silverstein, Graduate School of Social Work
• Funder: Advocates for Recovery Colorado (subaward Jefferson County)
• Advocates for Recovery is applying to the Gateway to the Rockies Opioid Council (GROC) Opioid Settlement Fund to Create or Expand a Recovery Community Organization to serve all three counties. AFRC will subcontract with the Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver (Butler) to conduct an implementation and outcomes program evaluation of the proposed project.

Speed to housing, and housing quality for people experiencing homelessness and receiving guaranteed income

• Daniel Brisson, Graduate School of Social Work
• Funder: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
• The objectives of the study are to use data from the Denver Basic Income Project (DBIP) to assess whether a guaranteed income of $1,000 per month increases the rate at which people experiencing homelessness and to determine if using a Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) or receiving guaranteed income results in higher quality housing.

City and County Of Denver DEDO Incumbent Worker Training

• Christine Gallager, University College
• Funder: City and County Of Denver
• As part of a goal to deliver career-focused alternative educational pathways (both academic and nonacademic), University College seeks to serve as a force to help close the equity gaps that persist in our communities through a robust and holistic approach to workforce and professional development within a modern lifelong learning model. This project seeks to establish a scholarship fund to be utilized by eligible incumbent workers looking to upskill and reskill in order to retain employment and/or pursue advancement and promotion in their careers.

Association of Discrimination Reported During Pregnancy on Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Mothers

• Nathalie Dieujuste, College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
• Funder: National Institutes of Health
• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death for women in the US. Little research has examined the associations of experiences of discrimination during pregnancy with later maternal CVD risk. The proposed research examines associations of discrimination during pregnancy with maternal CVD risk at 3-4 years postpartum, and evaluates whether childhood experiences increase vulnerability to the effects of this association.

GeriCare EveryWhere Consortium Partner Agreement

• Shelly Smith-Acuna, Graduate School of Professional Psychology
• Funder: University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
• The program coordinates and expands geriatric training opportunities for clinical health professions graduate students (students) enrolled in participating Colorado institutions of higher education (participating institutions) across Colorado studying to become advanced practice providers; dentists; nurses; occupational therapists; pharmacists; physicians, including medical doctors and physical therapists; psychologists; social workers; and speech-language therapists.

Connected Communities Thriving Families Planning & Facilitation

• Robin Leake, Graduate School of Social Work
• Funder: Missouri Coalition for Children
• In partnership with MCC, Butler will identify one of the CC-TF communities to serve as a pilot site for enhanced implementation support. Butler will work directly with the community to ensure a diverse and representative team that includes youth and families with lived experience, mental and behavioral health providers, educators, child welfare, housing, legal system, and other key stakeholder groups.

Improving Health and Housing Outcomes through a Simulation and Economic Model (iHOUSE)

• Elysia Versen, Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab
• Funder: University of Colorado Denver (subaward National Institutes of Health - NIH)
• The Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab will collaborate with the UCD on the development of a Linked Information Network of Colorado (LINC) request. The Colorado Lab will support the application of findings to Colorado policy and practice and dissemination activities. Our goal is to provide an evidence base for the prioritization and optimization of strategies and structural interventions to improve health of people experiencing homelessness and decrease racial/ethnic health disparities in HIV, overdose, and life expectancy.

Developing Indicators of Success for CDEC's Organizational Theory of Change

• Kristin Klopfenstein, Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab
• Funder: Colorado Department of Early Childhood (subaward Administration for Children and Families - ACF)
• The Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) partnered with the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab (Colorado Lab) to develop an organizational theory of change (TOC). The organizational TOC includes a unifying TOC representing the entirety of CDEC’s strategic plan, as well as more detailed TOCs representing the goals of family strengthening, workforce, and access. Together, these TOCs depict the essential elements and drivers of change that together support achievement of the identified outcomes.

Triad TOC & Evaluation Planning

• Robin Leake, Graduate School of Social Work
• Funder: Trailhead Institute (subaward Triad Bright Futures)
• The Butler Institute for Families will provide facilitation and consultation for the development of a Theory of Change for Triad Bright Futures. The development of the Theory of Change will include facilitation of Triad Bright Futures’ stakeholders to produce a Theory of Change that captures the community’s vision for Triad Bright Futures.

Solution Focused Brief Therapy

• Johnny Kim, Graduate School of Social Work
• Funder: Aurora Public School
• This training will allow participants to understand the foundational principles of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) and develop and practice basic SFBT skills. SFBT is used by a variety of service providers to support clients in actively working towards self-identified goals. It helps individuals to find motivation because they not only begin to see beyond their current challenges, but they can identify real steps to take to move forward.

Off Center

• Remy Le Boeuf, College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
• Funder: The Aaron Copland Fund
• Off Center is an album of all new original music by American jazz composer/performers, Remy and Pascal Le Boeuf and their quintet, Le Boeuf Brothers. Independently receiving multiple Grammy-nominations for their work as composers/performers, the brothers are known for their innovative compositions and unique approach to improvisation as an ensemble. Off Center is a new project that features a diverse crew of globally acclaimed jazz artists.