The following grants were approved by the board of the FHL Foundation at their special meeting, March 15th, 2011:
Grant List
- Texas Tech University (Dr. Kazuko Behrens—lead researcher) – $25,000
- A Home Within – $25,000
- Children & Nature Network – $25,000
- The Salt Lake Children’s Center – $2,500
- The Association of Small Foundations – $5,000
Grant Descriptions
Texas Tech – I talked about this grant request in my post of August 31, 2010. Here’s an excerpt from that post wherein Dr. Kazuko—who teaches in the Human Development and Family Studies department—talks about his Attachment and Neurophysiological Correlates Project (my additions in brackets):
The project I intend to pursue—specifically based on this funding—is to expand on a pilot study that we have recently conducted, utilizing the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and the EEG procedure. Attachment and neuroscience is one of the emerging topics in the field of attachment [and seeks] to enhance our understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms of parental behaviors. Attachment status assessed by the AAI predicts an offspring’s attachment quality (van IJzendoorn, 1995). Three major states of mind [with respect to attachment]—Secure, Dismissing, and Preoccupied—are determined primarily based on the coherence of discourse [as captured linguistically by the AAI] regarding childhood attachment experiences (Main, Goldwyn, & Hesse, 2002). What is not known is whether different AAI statuses have differential neuroanatomical correlates. Specifically, are the brain activation patterns exhibited by individuals of distinct AAI statuses different when responding to emotional pictures, including childhood photos of their parents and their children? Will the notion that activation of the left hemisphere is associated with positive emotional responses and the right with negative (Davidson, 1984) be upheld [after the attachment and EEG data are analyzed] and educate us regarding, for example, [the] neurological process [parents engage in while] perceiving their own parents or their children? [Can this neurological process be linked] to certain parental behaviors?
A Home Within – Here’s a description of the Fostering Transitions Project from the Home Within application:
Fostering Transitions is an interactive curriculum designed to educate and support direct service providers working with pregnant and parenting teens in foster care. The children of teen parents are particularly vulnerable, as are the parents themselves, especially those in foster care. These young parents are six times more likely to lose their children to foster care. The staff working with them is young, untrained and vulnerable to burnout and turnover, which only adds instability to lives already characterized by trauma and loss. This “train the trainer” model is designed to introduce complex theories that support healthy relationships into this fragile system. Promoting healthy attachments can break the intergenerational involvement with foster care. By offering this program online we can make revisions easily and inexpensively while promoting interaction among staff in diverse locations, decreasing their sense of isolation and increasing the opportunity to learn from each other.
Children & Nature Network – Here’s a description of Project Grow Outside from the application submitted to our Foundation:
We believe that connecting young children and families of diverse types to nature can foster the characteristics of healthy family bonding associated with attachment theory. Martha Farrell Erickson, University of Minnesota attachment researcher and founding Board member of the Children & Nature Network (C&NN), says, “Attachment theory, supported by decades of attachment research, highlights the importance of a parent’s sensitivity to a child’s cues, emotional availability and effective sharing with the child. In today’s hurried, high-tech world, shared nature experience affords a unique opportunity for all of those ingredients of a healthy attachment to emerge and grow, strengthening family bonds, reducing stress for all family members, and promoting optimal health and development for children and parents alike.”
This proposed project will 1) synthesize research; and 2) Communicate the principles of attachment theory in Tool Kits to be developed and disseminated free of charge.
The Salt Lake Children’s Center – This grant was made to defray the cost of putting on the Annual Bridging the Gap Conference held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Here’s a description from their application:
The Bridging the Gap Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah attracts clinicians from the Intermountain West who are invested in the application of attachment theory to clinical practice. Now in it’s twelfth year, the conference has effectively introduced over 300 clinicians to the importance of attachment theory in work with very young children and their families. This year [2011] the conference will focus on attachment and trauma. Joyanna Silberg, Ph.D. is the coordinator of Truama Disorder Services at Sheppard Pratt Health System. She will speak on Trauma and Dissociation in Children. Julie Ribaudo, MSW from the University of Michigan School of Social Work will present a trauma case detailing the importance of attachment theory in the treatment of young children who have experienced trauma. This is an exciting new extension of attachment theory and will appeal to a wide range of clinicians.
The Association of Small Foundations – The Association of Small Foundations (ASF) is a professional trade organization. Here’s a description of ASF taken from their web site:
The Association of Small Foundations (ASF) is a membership organization for donors, trustees, employees and consultants of foundations that have few or no staff.
What Is Small?
At ASF small relates to staff size, not to assets. The United States is home to over 60,000 small foundations — those led entirely by volunteer boards or operated by just a few staff. These small foundations account for half of the country’s total foundation grant dollars, and provide essential financial support in communities across the country.
Mission
ASF enhances the power of philanthropy by providing donors, trustees, and professionals with peer learning opportunities, resources, and a collective voice in and beyond the philanthropic community.
If you have any questions concerning the above approved grants, feel free to contact the Foundation using the CONTACT US link above.
