About CRCW
The Bendheim-Thoman Center for Research on Child Wellbeing (CRCW) is an interdisciplinary center of the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. Our mission is to stimulate basic research, educate faculty and students, and influence policymakers and practitioners on issues affecting children, youth, and families.
CRCW supports three major research initiatives: the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study,(Formerly known as the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study), the American Voices Project, and Deepening our Understanding of America's Most Vulnerable Communities.The Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), formerly known as the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, is following a longitudinal birth cohort of nearly 5,000 children born in the U.S. at the end of the 20th century. The study provides new information on the capabilities and relationships of parents, particularly unwed parents, as well as the effects of parental resources and public policies on children's wellbeing.
In addition, CRCW associates are engaged in a variety of research projects on topics such as at-risk youth, immigrant families and children, education, health, families and households, and poverty and inequality.
CRCW associates teach a variety of courses at the undergraduate, M.P.A., and Ph.D. levels on issues affecting children, youth, and families. Associates lead policy workshops and teach topical courses in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and such academic departments as sociology and economics.
CRCW supports seminars, conferences, and lectures on topics related to children, youth, and families, including the FFCWS Working Group series; and joint seminars with the Office of Population Research (OPR), the Center for Health and Wellbeing (CHW), and the Department of Sociology. In addition to sponsoring and promoting graduate students' work on topical issues, CRCW supports a Joint Degree Program in Social Policy (JDP), which is a multidisciplinary Ph.D. program aimed at addressing economic insecurity and inequality.
The Center hosts several visiting research scholars and postdoctoral researchers each year.
CRCW engages in several activities to inform policymakers and practitioners about issues related to children, youth, and families, including publishing research briefs with key findings from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study.
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