Current Research and Funded Projects
The NICRP conducts academic and community-based research in multiple areas affecting children and their families. In addition to having an interdisciplinary research staff, NICRP also collaborates with University faculty from a variety of disciplines as well as community partners to ensure that our research reflects the most current methods and will have the most beneficial impact on our community.
Mental Health Expansion Project
NICRP was selected to evaluate the Clark County Mental Health Expansion Project for the Clark County Department of Family Services which seeks to expand mental health services for children and youth with serious emotional disturbance (SED).
Essentials for Childhood: Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences through Data to Action
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a funded program focused on preventing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and promoting positive childhood experiences (PCEs). These efforts will help reduce leading causes of death, mental health challenges, health risk behaviors…
Nevada Statewide Adult Tobacco Survey
Through a contract with the Southern Nevada Health District, NICRP assists with the development of the Nevada Statewide Adult Tobacco Survey, coordinates data collection for the survey, analyzes the data, and produces a report of the findings.
Children’s Mental Health Initiative
The Clark County Department of Family Services selected NICRP to evaluate their Children’s Mental Health Initiative known as The Project. The Project seeks to expand and sustain comprehensive community mental health services for children with serious emotional disturbances.
State of Nevada Executive Committee to Review the Deaths of Children
The Nevada Division of Child and Family Services contracts with NICRP to assist in the facilitation of the State of Nevada Executive Committee to Review the Deaths of Children meetings and committee tasks, coordinate data cleaning of child deaths statewide,…
NV Silver State Stars Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS)
The Office of Early Learning and Development at the Nevada Department of Education contracts with NICRP to evaluate the state’s QRIS. The QRIS was created to establish a standard to measure and improve the quality of early childhood education programs…
The Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5)
The Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) supports a needs assessment, strategic planning, family engagement, quality improvement, workforce compensation and supports, and direct services for young children. It is intended to improve collaboration among existing programs as well…
Nevada Division of Child and Family Services, Infant, Toddler, Safe Babies Court Program
NICRP is serving as the Evaluation and Data Lead for the DCFS Infant and Toddler Court Program. For families with children aged three years and younger, under court jurisdiction, in foster care or at risk of removal from their families,…
TANG Foundation Social Emotional Learning Dance Program
ConfiDACNCE is an 8-10 week youth ballroom dancing program that aims to enhance social-emotional skills in youths (ages 11-13). This program will be piloted at middle schools and other locations that have afterschool programs for the selected age group. NICRP…
Million Girls Moonshot, Capacity Building Project
For the third year of the Million Girls Moonshot, the Nevada Afterschool Network seeks to help facilitate relationships between STEM partners and afterschool/OST programs, increase awareness of existing STEM resources, and develop opportunities to elevate youth voice as champions for…
Healthy Start
In 2014 and again in 2023, the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) was awarded a Healthy Start grant. NICRP was chosen to evaluate both grants. Through Healthy Start, SNHD implements a program of services designed to provide comprehensive maternal-child services…
Nevada Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Workgroup
The Nevada Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Workgroup is collaborating to combat the ever-growing numbers of overweight and obesity in young children ages 0 to 8. Led by the Nevada Institute of Children’s Research and Policy, the workgroup is a coalition…
Overdose Data to Action
In 2019 and again in 2022, the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) was awarded an Overdose Data to Action grant by the CDC to collect high quality, comprehensive, and timely data on nonfatal and fatal overdoses to inform prevention and…
Clark County Child Death Review Team
Through contracts with Nevada Division of Child and Family Services and Clark County Department of Family Services, NICRP facilitates the Clark County Child Death Review monthly team meetings, manages data collection and entry of case information into the national online…
Annual Nevada Kindergarten Health Survey
In the fall of the 2008-2009 school year the Nevada Institute for Children’s Research and Policy partnered with the Clark County School District, the Southern Nevada Health District, and the State Health Division to create a survey regarding the health…
Clark County Children’s Mental Health Consortium 10-Year Plan
NICRP has been contracted by the Clark County Children’s Mental Health Consortium (CCCMHC) to coordinate all activities related to its 10-year Strategic Plan to be released in January, 2020. Activities associated with this project include community based data collection to…
SNHD Racial & Ethnic Approaches to Community Health Evaluation
NICRP has been selected to evaluate the Southern Nevada Health District’s (SNHD) Racial & Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant. Through this grant, SNHD will implement a variety of services designed to reduce tobacco use and exposure, and increase…
Nevada Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Project
NICRP received a three-year Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to strengthen: blood lead testing in children under six, surveillance of children screened for lead in their blood, population-based interventions for lead, and…
Nevada Afterschool Network
The Nevada Institute for Children’s Research and Policy (NICRP) has been selected to re-establish the Nevada Afterschool Network (NAN) with financial support from the Charles S. Mott Foundation. During this ongoing project, NICRP will organize and convene community organizations statewide…
Southern Nevada Early Childhood Advisory Council Children’s Cabinet (SNECAC) Program
The Southern Nevada Early Childhood Advisory Council (SNECAC) works to strengthen local coordination and collaboration among the various sectors and settings of early childhood programs. Learn more at snecac.com
Nevada Afterschool Network LEAP Project
The Nevada Afterschool Network (NAN) plans to use funds from this grant to conduct outreach efforts that will establish and strengthen partnerships with community leaders, elected officials, and OST programs throughout Nevada. Monies received from this grant will be used…
Past Research and Funded Projects
NV Silver State Stars Quality Rating Improvement System Pilot Project Evaluation
The Nevada Office of Early Care and Education is conducting a pilot project to test a quality rating improvement system (QRIS) for early childhood education centers in Southern Nevada. NICRP has been contracted to conduct the evaluation for this pilot…
Southern Nevada Human Trafficking Services Program
In 2020, Hookers for Jesus, Inc. received a three-year grant from the DOJ Office for Victims of Crime to increase the quantity and quality of services provided to survivors of human trafficking in Southern Nevada. For this project, Nevada Institute…
Evaluation of the Choose Your Partner Carefully Campaign
Prevent Child Abuse Nevada (PCA-NV) at the Nevada Institute for Children’s Research and Policy (NICRP) and community partners adapted a campaign from Ohio entitled “Choose Your Partner Carefully (CYPC).” This campaign was created because too often children are injured, sometimes…
Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program
The Southern Nevada Health District contracted with NICRP to evaluate their Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program in which evidence-based curricula were taught to youth involved with the Clark County Department of Juvenile Justice Services or Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth.
Nevada Children’s Data Center
NICRP is working to develop the Nevada Children’s DataCenter, which is funded by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. The DataCenter serves to enable Nevada to provide better lives for its children. The publicly-available, online DataCenter centralizes research,…
Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Southern Nevada
NICRP is working with the Big Brother Big Sisters of Southern Nevada to provide data analysis and evaluation services to demonstrate the effectiveness of the program. Big Brothers Big Sisters matches children ages 6 through 18 with mentors in professionally…
Communities in Schools of Nevada
NICRP is working with the Communities in Schools (CIS) of Nevada program to provide data analysis and evaluation services to demonstrate the effectiveness and cost benefits of the program to both students and the community. Communities in Schools is the…
Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP) Evaluation and Legislative Strategies
The overall five year goal of the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP) is to establish a comprehensive, statewide screening, surveillance, and primary prevention outreach and education program to eliminate childhood lead poisoning as a pediatric public health problem in…
Public Lands Institute Families in Nature Program Evaluation
The Public Lands Institute “Families in Nature” program was developed in order to provide families in Las Vegas with environmental education, to promote environmental stewardship, and to foster personally meaningful connections to nature. The program consists of educational and recreational…
Southern NV Community Health Needs Assessment
NICRP, in partnership with Quality Health Care Center and St. Rose Dominican Hospitals, is conducting a community health needs assessment of Clark County. The purpose of the assessment is to collect and analyze data about county residents in the following…
On-line Training about Safe Injection Practices for Healthcare Providers: Creation and Evaluation
NICRP, in partnership with the Southern Nevada Health District and the Area Health Education Center of Southern Nevada, is evaluating and enhancing an on-line training module to educate medical providers about the Centers for Disease Control recommendations for safe injection…
Evaluation for the “One and Only Campaign” for Safe Injection Practices
Nevada has been selected as one of only two states to pilot test and evaluate the One & Only Campaign materials. These materials were designed to help provide education and promote awareness about safe injection practices. NICRP is conducting this…
Evaluation of the Nevada State Safe Injections Awareness Campaign
The Nevada State Health Division is working in collaboration with stakeholders to disseminate, provide outreach and bring awareness of safe injection practices to healthcare providers, patients, and the public in Nevada. NSHD is hopeful that this effort will improve the…
Community Catalyst Project Evaluation (subcontract with NV Covering Kids and Families)
The Community Catalyst Project: Protecting Funding for Nevada Medicaid and Check Up Programs was initiated to increase and improve advocacy efforts for funding of Nevada’s Medicaid and Check Up health care programs. This two-year project has several objectives: develop a…
SNIC WIC Immunization Linkage Project Evaluation
The Nevada institute for Children’s Research and policy is working with the Southern Nevada Immunization Coalition (SNIC) on a process evaluation of their WIC Linkages project. The WIC Linkages Project is a collaboration between nine local WIC office locations and…
Nevada State Early Childhood Data Tracking Planning Report
The purpose of the project is to provide a recommendation to the State of Nevada and the Early Childhood System/Head Start Collaboration Office about the feasibility of developing a comprehensive early childhood data system for the purposes of research and…
Immunization Provider Mapping Project
In the Spring of 2009 NICRP worked with the Southern Nevada Immunization Coalition to map locations of all childhood immunization providers in Nevada. NICRP obtained several lists of providers including; a list of all physicians licensed in Nevada as pediatricians…
Garrett Lee Smith Grant
The Garrett Lee Smith Grant provides funds to offer services for the intervention, prevention and treatment of suicide by youth. The Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) Memorial Act Grant was secured by the Nevada Department of Child and Family Services in…
Smaller Learning Communities Grant
The Smaller Learning Communities Grant provides support for the development of small, safe, and successful learning environments in large high schools. Funds are provided to assist schools to develop research-based strategies, implement, and expand smaller learning environments. NICR&P will conduct…
Study of the Health, Safety, Welfare and Civil and Other Rights of Children in Government and Private Facilities in Nevada
On November 16, 2005 , the Legislative Commission contracted with the NICRP to conduct a study of the health, safety, welfare and civil and other rights of children in certain government and private facilities in Nevada . The study included…
Complaint Collection Project for Youth Residential Facilities in Nevada
Under a continuation contract with the Nevada State Legislative Counsel Bureau, NICRP accepted complaints regarding 30 facilities that house children across the state of Nevada . Included facilities forwarded all internal grievances to NICRP for summary and analysis. In addition…
SNHD Partnerships to Improve Community Health Evaluation
NICRP was selected to evaluate the Southern Nevada Health District’s (SNHD) Partnerships to Improve Community Health (PICH) grant from 2015-2017. Through this grant, SNHD will implement a program of services designed to address tobacco use and exposure, poor nutrition, physical…
Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team
NICRP is working with the Attorney General’s Office to help establish a statewide domestic violence fatality review team, as well as a review team in Clark County. Domestic Violence Fatality Review Teams review selected adjudicated cases of fatalities due to…
Clark County Homeless Youth Model Intervention Planning Project
The Nevada Institute for Children’s Research and Policy was contracted to act as the external evaluator for the Clark County Department of Family Services’ (CCDFS) Youth at Risk of Homelessness Phase I Planning Grant which is funded by the Administration…
Hospital Based Safe Sleep Program
NICRP worked with the Southern Nevada Health District to create a hospital based safe sleep program which allows new parents to gain information on best practices for safe sleep before they leave the hospital. This program also included training for…
Evaluation of Clark County Neo-Natal Follow-Up Program
NICRP was selected to evaluate the Clark County Neonatal Follow-up Program, a developmental pediatric program, created by Positively Kids, to address the lack of comprehensive follow-up care for newborns or infants, born prematurely, with low birth weight, and/or with a…
Department of Family Services IV-E Waiver Program
In July 2015, the Clark County Department of Family Services (CCDFS) received a Title IV-E Waiver which allows them flexibility in how Federal foster care funding is spent. CCDFS is using the waiver to provide in-home safety services to children,…