New Grants for Systematic Reviews on Children and Youth

The Jacobs Foundation has awarded over US$200,000 for systematic reviews to inform better policy and practice to improve child and youth development. Systematic reviews summarise the best high quality evidence about what works. The reviews will be published in the Campbell Library of systematic reviews.

The grants are made by the Jacobs Foundation as part of their ‘Program on Better Evidence for Children and Youth’.

Five teams of researchers have received funds to conduct Campbell systematic reviews of programs in the following areas:

• adaptive and individualized learning for students
• technology-delivered interventions to target symptoms of adolescent depression
• police initiated programs to prevent youth delinquent behaviour
• the effects of early childhood education programs on the development and longer-term achievement of low-income children
• interventions to promote the wellbeing of children exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

The teams to conduct the systematic reviews are from Concordia University (Canada), The Dartington Social Research Unit (United Kingdom), George Mason University (United States of America), the University of Maryland (United States of America), and RTI International (United States of America).

In addition, the Jacobs Foundation will fund a review from the University of Ulm (Germany) on language interventions for dual language learners in early education and care.

“The partnership between the Campbell Collaboration and the Jacobs Foundation is helping to build internationally important evidence for better social policies to support, develop and protect children,” says Peter Neyroud, Co-Chair of the Campbell Collaboration’s Crime and Justice Coordinating Group.

“This year’s funded reviews focus on better ways to teach and educate, treat mental illness in adolescents, prevent young people becoming involved in crime and support children exposed to domestic violence. These are critical issues for every society and central to the Campbell Collaboration’s mission.”

Simon Sommer, Head of Research at the Jacobs Foundation notes: “Children and youth grow up in ever more complex environments. Funders, service providers, and politicians alike need reliable information on policies, interventions and programs that work.”

“We are proud to partner with the Campbell Collaboration to generate this knowledge through systematic reviews on pressing issues in child and youth development.”