Focus Areas

Inequality by race, economic standing, and immigrant origin status is pervasive in the United States, and is evident across a range of domains, including education, child welfare, mental health, and justice. We believe that the research community can play a critical role in reversing these trends. Within this focus area, we support descriptive studies meant to clarify the mechanisms for reducing inequality. We also seek intervention studies that improve the measurement of inequality in ways that will enhance the works of researchers, practitioners, or policy makers.

In this focus area, we seek to build theory and empirical evidence on ways to strengthen the connections between research evidence, decision making, and youth outcomes. Our focus on improving the use of research evidence aims to identify, create, and test strategies to ensure that research reaches the hands of decision makers, answers their most pressing questions, and is used in ways that benefit youth.