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Wood’s Homes Research Department and Research Chair

Welcome to the Research Department of Wood’s Homes.

Research departments are rare among non-profit organizations, so we are proud to be a leader in this field.

Wood’s Homes began collecting and analysing data about our program successes (and yes, failures) in 2001. Our researchers work to expand the body of knowledge in child, youth, family and community well-being. They monitor and evaluate excellence in service delivery within the agency, but also contribute to the larger service community by sharing our successes.

The department is committed to developing innovative methods for monitoring treatment effectiveness and agency functioning. Researchers compile, analyse and evaluate using the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) as well as the National Outcomes Matrix (NOMS) which represents 4 key areas: Safety, Well-Being, Permanence, and Family and Community Support.

Our researchers also focus on fostering an agency-wide climate of thinking about the work we do, as well as actually doing it. This department provides motivation and inspiration to go beyond the day-to-day activity, to investigate what works and to apply that knowledge in practice.

Wood's Homes Research Chair in children's mental health 


“I intend to break some myths that are taught about traumatized children and parents and their mental health challenges. And I’ve learned that it’s never too late for repair.”

Dr. Angelique Jenney was named the Wood’s Homes Research Chair in Children’s Mental Health on May 16, 2017.

In partnership with the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Social Work, the Chair is unique to Canada as it’s the first community-based Chair in Children’s Mental Health. Dr. Jenney divides her time between the University of Calgary and Wood’s Homes in Calgary.

The children’s mental health community is already benefiting from this initiative by:

  1. Having ready access to information about Best Practices and other research to enhance skills and ability to effectively address mental health issues in children and youth.
  2. Engaging in studies that offer opportunities to learn about research practices, outcome measures and also ‘what works’ in a field of interest.
  3. Gaining access to action-oriented research opportunities results and strategies to more effectively work with children and adolescents.
  4. Offering practitioners and students in the social services field, the opportunity to both learn and practise skills needed to improve services for children, youth and families.
  5. Providing the results and experiences to policy-makers, other agencies, professional journals, academic institutions and the general public at the local, provincial, national and international levels.

Dr. Jenney, PhD, RSW, has more than 25 years’ experience working with children and families and most recently was the Director of Family Violence Services for the Child Development Institute (CDI) – an internationally recognized child and family agency in Toronto.   

“I’m here to look at effective, innovative practices to share with the rest of the practice community, and to ensure that new knowledge is also extended to parents and caregivers in practical and meaningful ways.”

 

More from Dr. Angelique Jenney

Blog posts:

Videos:

Podcasts:

  • Coming soon
“This position is uniquely situated to enable a true integration and collaboration between practitioners, academics and policy-makers – a chance to really influence interventions for children, youth and their families.  The opportunities are really endless, and the promise of what we can all do together with this position is nothing short of inspiring.”