About CFCWB
Our Mission
The Center for Family and Community Well-Being (CFCWB) advances the well-being of vulnerable populations through the development and dissemination of evidence based practices, technology driven innovations and research to address complex social problems such as violence and adversity, poverty, unfairness and disparities in health and mental health. The Center utilizes the expertise of faculty from the Kent School of Social Work & Family Science and partners throughout the University and community to achieve this mission through the following core activities by:
- Sponsoring community symposiums and national conferences on key topics
- Providing professional development opportunities on evidence based practices and newly developed manualized treatment approaches
- Partnering with technology transfer to turn research into technological tools for advancing the well-being of vulnerable populations
- Conducting direct service delivery of manualized programs to vulnerable populations
- Offering program evaluation and grant development for community partners
- Engaging in rigorous research on the needs of and interventions for vulnerable populations
- Disseminating practice, policy and research briefs to inform and promote best practices for family and community well-being
Our History
The CFCWB was developed to provide an organizational structure at the University that would allow community agency personnel to come together with university faculty and develop joint projects aimed at increasing resources to families and communities in need. The center has consistently sought to serve our urban community, with particular emphasis on social problems and vulnerable populations. The center has had a significant role in initiating, developing, implementing and in some cases maintaining a number of nationally recognized programs.
Nationally Recognized Programs & Models
Neighborhood Place is a groundbreaking city initiative to provide families and individuals with better access to community based services by bringing multiple agencies together, with eight locations across Louisville. This model is being replicated in other communities across the United States.
Families in Transition is a post-divorce counseling program based out of Jefferson County Family Courts. It serves as a model which is being replicated in other states and countries.
The Juvenile Sexual Offender Counselor Training Program is a nationally acclaimed training program that works to reduce child sexual abuse through offender remediation. The program has trained staff in 49 states and 12 different countries.
Solution Based Casework is a model of assessment, case planning and casework management adopted by the Commonwealth of Kentucky to decrease child abuse and neglect, and is now being adopted in multiple other states and countries.
Additional Projects
- Leadership development in the west end of Louisville and other urban areas of the state
- Development of programs and resources for high risk children in under-served areas
- Training programs for staff in private child care centers that work with high risk children
- A treatment protocol for the Department of Juvenile Justice, Commonwealth of Kentucky