Funding Opportunities

Transdisciplinary Research on Fatigue and Fatigability in Aging
Deadline: May 7, 2011
The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) from the National Institutes of Health is to encourage submission of research grant applications on fatigue and fatigability in aging. This FOA is intended to promote research studies employing transdisciplinary approaches that could lead to increased understanding of mechanisms contributing to, assessment of, or potential interventions for, increased fatigue or fatigability in older persons. Click here for more information.    

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Research Training Grants (T32)
Deadlines: January 25, May 25, and September 25, until May 8, 2014
This program provides funding to develop or enhance research training opportunities for individuals who are training for careers in specified areas of biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research. The primary objective of the T32 program is to prepare qualified individuals for careers that have a significant impact on the health-related research needs of the nation. Accordingly, the NRSA program supports predoctoral and postdoctoral research training programs (including those with short term research training components). Click here for more information.  

Arrest-Related Deaths Program, 2011-2013
Deadline: June 13, 2011
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is seeking proposals for assistance in the development and implementation of the Arrest-Related Deaths (ARD) Program, 2011-2013. In addition, BJS is seeking assistance in the revision of the 2013 ARD survey instrument and refinements in procedures for collecting and analyzing data about arrest-related deaths. Click here for more information.

Partnership to Strengthen Families: Child Support Enforcement and University Partnerships
Deadline: June 27, 2011
State child support agencies may propose projects in which they partner with a university or that involve a university and one or more agencies (such as TANF, child welfare, workforce, behavioral health, community colleges). OCSE may consider projects that are state-identified issues if the need is well-documented and of concern to other states. Click here for more information.

Open Society Institute Think Tank Fund: Using Data for Policy Research and Advocacy in Europe and Central Eurasia
Deadline: June 15, 2011
The Open Society Institute Think Tank Fund and Information Program invite proposals from think tanks, policy research organizations, and advocacy organizations with in-house research capacity for comprehensive projects designed to improve public access to data for policy-relevant research and evidence-based advocacy. Click here for more information.  

Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative: Consortia to Study Effects of Oil Spill
Deadline: May 9, 2011 (Letter of Intent)
The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Research Board has released a Request for Proposals to establish four to eight research consortia that will study the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in April 2010. The purpose of the RFP is to select the research activities for years two to four (June 2011-May 2014) involving research consortia. For this solicitation, a research consortium is defined as consisting of four or more universities, institutions, or independent organizations. In general, research consortia will consist of institutions in the Gulf Coast states, provided that research institutions outside the Gulf Coast region may be members of or participate in partnerships with such research consortia, to the extent required to ensure the delivery of high-quality scientific studies in fulfillment of the objectives of the GRI. Click here for more information.  

Methodological Research to Support the National Crime Victimization Survey: Self Report Data on Rape and Sexual Assault - Pilot Test
Deadline: June 15, 2011
The solicitation seeks applicants to develop and test optimum data collection procedures for self-report data on rape and sexual assault. The focus of the work under this solicitation is to develop, implement, and test survey methods for providing estimates of rape and sexual assault, and to determine the feasibility of using these procedures in the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) program. Click here for more information.

RWJF Public Health Services and Systems Research
Deadline: May 24, 2011
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) seeks to expand the evidence base for effective public health policy and practice through investment in Public Health Services and Systems Research (PHSSR). PHSSR examines the organization, financing and delivery of public health services within a community and determines the links between the quality and performance of the public health system and population health outcomes. Up to 14 grants will be awarded through this solicitation. Grantees will receive up to $200,000 each in financial support to be used over a 24-month period. Selection criteria to assess proposals include the degree to which the project is innovative and findings will inform and improve public health practice and performance, the potential for results to inform public health practitioners' or policy-makers' decisions addressing the most critical issues relating to public health systems, the extent to which the research draws its questions from practice and from practitioners, and plans for translating and disseminating research findings to inform public health practice and policy and evaluation of those plans. Click here for more information.   

Post doctoral Fellowship Position, School of Social Work, University of Pittsburgh

Deadline: May 15, 2011

The Postdoctoral Fellowship Program at the University Pittsburgh, School of Social Work and Center on Race and Social Problems is recruiting for one appointment for the September 2011-August 2012 Academic year. For PhD graduates committed to university teaching and research, this fellowship program provides a stipend, close association with faculty at the university and assistance in furthering the fellow's development as a productive scholar. This Fellowship is designed to offer junior scholars the time, space, and financial support necessary to produce significant scholarship early in their careers. The Postdoctoral Fellowship is for one year and has the possibility of renewal for up to an additional year. Fellows will teach two courses per year, complete scholarly work, and participate in the academic and intellectual community of the School of Social Work. For more information please go to the web address.

Doctoral Dissertation Funding: Child Welfare
The New York Foundling Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection
Deadline: July 15, 2011
In recognition of the ongoing need for research that promotes and supports best practice in the field of child welfare, The New York Foundling and the Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection is offering a Grant Program to support dissertation research in the field of child welfare for doctoral students. Click here for more information.

Improving Disability Determination Process: Graduate Student Funding
Deadline: June 13, 2011
In calendar year 2009, expenditures for the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and SSI programs for the blind and disabled totaled $121.5 billion and $41 billion respectively. These programs are the foundation of the Federal structure that provides cash income to individuals who do not have or who have lost the ability to support themselves in the labor market due to one or more permanently disabling conditions. The disability determination process under the SSDI and SSI programs is both extensive and complex. The Social Security Administration (SSA) is seeking ideas to improve the efficiency and reduce the complexity of the disability determination process. SSA is announcing the solicitation of applications to compete for a grant aimed at improving the Disability Determination Process. This new program will make small stipends available to graduate students for innovative research relevant to the disability program. SSA management will identify suggested priority areas of interest. SSA intends to fund stipends to graduate students to support their thesis work with the expectation that the resulting product will be a thesis or written project relevant to our disability program. The successful grantee will serve as Program Manager to coordinate the effort. SSA intends to award funding for this grant on a five-year basis, renewable annually. Annual funding for this grant is $300,000, which will include funding for the program manager and graduate student stipends of $10,000 each. Click here for more information.

Despite Record National Low, State Teen Birth Rates Vary Widely, as do Repeat Teen Births across Cities

(From ChildTrends)

Nationally, birth rates for all teens decreased in 2009 to 39.1 births per 1,000 young women between the ages of 15 and 19.  However, the latest state data on teen birth rates (from 2008) show wide variation:

* Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas have the highest teen birth rates (66 births for every 1,000 female teens ages 15-19; 64 births, 63 births respectively).

* Massachusetts and New Hampshire have the lowest teen birth rates (20 births for every 1,000 female teens), followed closely by Vermont at 21 births per 1,000 female teens.

The report, which is based primarily on Child Trends' analyses of data from the National Center for Health Statistics, also includes teen birth data for large cities, as well as data on repeat teen births - births that occur to teens who have already had a baby. Nationally, one in five teen births (19%) are repeat teen births. Click here for more information.

Where, When and How Long? Poor Children by Parental Nativity
(From the National Center for Children in Poverty Update)
What are the differences between children of native-born parents, children of recent immigrant families, and children of established immigrant families? Promoting positive outcomes for young children in immigrant families requires a deeper understanding of the population itself. To this end, we provide a more nuanced look at poor children living with immigrant parents by expanding the definition of the immigrant experience to include not only parents' nativity but also their duration of stay in the U.S. Read Poor Children by Parents' Nativity: What Do We Know?.

Immigrant Families and SNAP Participation
(From the National Center for Children in Poverty Update)
What are the traits of low-income immigrant families that may bear on SNAP (food stamp) participation rates? How can state program administrators improve their outreach and other administrative procedures to better reach these needy families? Drawing on household data from the 2009 American Community Survey and administrative data from the SNAP program, we compare selected characteristics of immigrant families participating and not participating in the SNAP program with those of native families. Read SNAP Take-up Among Immigrant Families with Children.

2011 Report to the Secretary: Rural Health and Human Services Issues
(From Rural Assistance Center Human Services Update)
Report to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Includes chapters focused on rural childhood obesity, place-based initiatives for rural early childhood development, and rural implications of accountable care organizations and payment bundling. Includes recommendations to address these issues. Includes appendices regarding June 2010 and September 2010 site visits. Click here for more information.