UROP Project
Florida Housing Services for Child Welfare Involved Families Capacity and Gaps Assessment
Child Welfare, Social Work, Housing, Need Assessment
Research Mentor: Lauren Stanley, She/Her
Department, College, Affiliation: Florida Institute for Child Welfare, Social Work
Contact Email: lhstanley@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Lauren Herod She/Her
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: lherod@fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Department, College, Affiliation: Florida Institute for Child Welfare, Social Work
Contact Email: lhstanley@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Lauren Herod She/Her
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: lherod@fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors
Project Location: 2139 Maryland Circle, Ste 1300, Tallahassee, FL 32303
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Yes Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors
Project Location: 2139 Maryland Circle, Ste 1300, Tallahassee, FL 32303
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Yes Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 10, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
- Day: Tuesday, September 1
Start Time: 12:00
End Time: 4:00
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/my/lherod - Day: Thursday, September 3
Start Time: 12:00
End Time: 4:00
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/my/lherod
Project Description
This project will collect information on housing resources and policies for child welfare-involved families and individuals throughout the state of Florida. Using administrative data, stakeholder interviews, and publicly available information, the research team will prepare an analysis of service availability at the state, region, and local levels against the stated need for services. These services will be assessed against stated policy requirements to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement of services for child welfare-involved individuals who are facing housing instability or insecurity. Ultimately, this case study approach will inform policy recommendations for researchers, legislative involvement, and service providers throughout the state.Research Tasks: Literature Review, Policy reviews, data collection, and report writing. Additional tasks to be determined based on the student's background, experience level, and interest.
Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Strong academic writing (required), literature abstraction and annotation (recommended), qualitative interviewing (recommended), professional communication (required), Microsoft Office suite - including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (required), familiarity with child welfare or housing policy in the state of Florida (recommended), CITI Certificate (Recommended)
Mentoring Philosophy
My approach to mentoring rests on the belief that students grow into capable professionals when they are trusted with real responsibility and supported in meeting it. I give mentees genuine ownership over their work, along with the accountability that ownership requires. When a student holds primary responsibility for a task, they also hold responsibility for its outcomes. This mirrors the expectations of professional environments and helps students develop the judgment, follow-through, and resilience those settings demand. My role is to provide the scaffolding that makes accountability productive rather than punitive, so that setbacks become information rather than failures.Transparent communication underlies this work. I tell mentees where their efforts stand, what I observe in their progress, and what I expect going forward. I also invite the same candor in return. Clear, honest exchange builds the trust that makes difficult feedback usable and keeps expectations from becoming a source of confusion. I tailor mentorship to each student rather than applying a single template. Guided by their stated goals and a strengths-based orientation, I help students identify what they already do well and build on it deliberately. Recognizing individual talents lets me match tasks and development opportunities to the person in front of me. Finally, I lead in a human-centered way. Students are people first, with lives, constraints, and ambitions that extend beyond any project. Attending to the whole person produces better work and, more importantly, supports the kind of professional they are becoming.