The Child Maltreatment Solutions Network (CMSN) at Penn State has awarded funding to support 12 new projects through its university-sponsored endowment in 2026.
“The Child Maltreatment Solutions Network’s seed funding program is designed to spark innovative ideas and foster new interdisciplinary collaborations across Penn State,” said Christian Connell, CMSN director and the Ken Young Family Professor for Healthy Children. “This year’s faculty and student awardees exemplify the creativity and commitment needed to advance research that can strengthen systems of support and improve outcomes for children and families.”
The CMSN, a unit of the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI), currently includes nine faculty cofunds in multiple Penn State departments and colleges. This is the first time the CMSN has supported student-led projects through their seed grant program.
The 2026 student seed grants support student-led pilot projects from across the behavioral, social, health, and education sciences that address critical issues related to child maltreatment, adversity, prevention, and resilience. Together, the projects examine topics ranging from parent–child relationships and trauma-informed interventions to biological mechanisms of adversity, evidence-informed child welfare policy, and educational success for youth with foster care experiences, highlighting the breadth of perspectives and expertise represented across the Network. Student led projects selected for funding in 2026 include:
Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) of Affective Coregulation for Child Maltreatment Prevention and Intervention: Mothers with Parent-child Anxiety and Depression
- Student lead: Sohee Park, developmental psychology
- Faculty Mentor: Erika Lunkenheimer, professor of developmental psychology, associate director of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network and Social Science Research Institute co-funded faculty member
- Collaborating Investigators: Timothy Brick, professor of human development and family studies and SSRI affiliate faculty member
A Longitudinal Comparison of Research Evidence Use in State-Level Child Abuse and Neglect Legislation
- Student lead: Patrick O’Neill, human development and family studies
- Faculty Mentors: Christian Connell, The Ken Young Professor for Healthy Children, director of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network and SSRI co-funded faculty member; Max Crowley, C. Eugene Bennett Endowed Chair in Prevention Research, director of the Edna Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center and director of the SSRI’s Evidence-to-Impact Collaborative
The Biological Embedding of Adversity – Investigating the effects of persistent adversity on children’s metabolic disease risk among a high poverty sample
- Student Lead: Sawsan Salah, health and human development
- Faculty Mentor: Lori Ann Francis, professor of biobehavioral health and co-director of SSRI’s Community-Engaged Research, Action, and Partnerships unit
Mapping Hormonal Signatures of Childhood Maltreatment: Sex Steroid Profiles in High-Risk Pubertal Youth
- Student Lead: Aaliya Ahamed, biobehavioral health
- Faculty Mentor: Idan Shalev, associate professor of biobehavioral health and SSRI co-funded faculty member
Targeting Maternal Positive Valence Systems in Deprivation-Exposed Families to Improve Maternal and Child Outcomes: A Pilot Randomized Trial of a Dyadic Positive Affect Intervention
- Student Lead: Emilia Cárdenas, psychology postdoctoral scholar
- Faculty Mentor: Katie Burkhouse, associate professor of psychology and SSRI affiliate faculty member
Exploring College Success for Transition Age Youth in Foster Care: Constructing and Aligning Educational Goals and Strategies
- Student Lead: Lilli Falcon, education
- Faculty Mentor: Carlomagno Panlilio, associate professor of educational psychology and SSRI co-funded faculty member
A mixed-methods approach to assessing gender diverse adolescent exposure to potentially traumatic events and psychological functioning
- Student Lead: Metzli Lombera, psychology
- Faculty Mentor: Martha Wadsworth, professor of psychology
- Collaborating Investigators: Carlomagno Panlilio, associate professor of educational psychology and SSRI co-funded faculty member
Testing A Brief Mindfulness Augmentation to Improve Treatment Response in a Dyadic Positive Affect Intervention for High-Risk Youth
- Student Lead: Alexandra Petryczenko, psychology
- Faculty Mentor: Katie Burkhouse, associate professor of psychology and SSRI affiliate faculty member
The faculty seed grant program continues the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network's investment in innovative research that advances understanding, prevention, and response to child maltreatment. By supporting projects at critical stages of development, the program enables investigators to pursue promising new directions, strengthen ongoing lines of inquiry, and generate knowledge that can inform policy, practice, and future research. The 2026 faculty seed grant recipients and their funded projects are:
Mapping Risk of Family Court Associated Fillicides Campus: University Park
- Kathryn Spearman, assistant professor of nursing and SSRI co-funded faculty member
Forecasting Fit Person Caregiving Capacity: Barriers, Enablers, and Climate Sensitive Variability in Community-Based Child Protection Systems in Northern Tanzania
- Katharine Thompson, assistant research professor of anthropology and SSRI affiliate faculty member
- Collaborating Investigators: Patrick Sanga, program manager for the Amani Initiatives
Understanding the Implementation of Thrive Hybrid Parent-Education Programming with Parents and Caregivers Mandated to Receive Services due to Child Maltreatment-Related Concerns
- Ryan Chesnut, assistant research professor for the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness
- Collaborating Investigators: Daniel Perkins, distinguished professor of family and youth resiliency and policy; Janet Welch, research professor of health and human development; Terry Rudy, research program manager for the Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness
Parent Regulation, Engagement, Stress, and Health (PRESH) Extension
- Erika Lunkenheimer, professor of psychology, associate director of the Child Maltreatment Solutions Network and SSRI co-funded faculty member
- Collaborating Investigators: Hannah Schreier, associate professor of biobehavioral health and SSRI co-funded faculty member
Established in 2012, CMSN serves as an interdisciplinary cluster of faculty members and network staff committed to innovative research, education and outreach efforts to comprehensively address the risks and outcomes associated with child maltreatment. The CMSN also administers the University’s undergraduate minor in child maltreatment and advocacy studies.