The California Child Welfare Research Initiative aims to support Kids At Risk Action (KARA) in gathering and analyzing data related to child abuse, childhood trauma, and child protection within California. The project seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current landscape of child welfare in the state, which will contribute to KARA's new book, social media content, and national database platform. By focusing on California, the project will help identify regional trends, challenges, and opportunities for improvement in child protection efforts. Students will conduct thorough research using credible sources, compile relevant statistics, and analyze the data to draw meaningful conclusions. The ultimate goal is to equip KARA with valuable insights that can inform their advocacy and outreach efforts, thereby enhancing their impact on child welfare policies and practices.

1. The project deliverables will include a detailed research report summarizing key findings on child abuse, childhood trauma, and child protection in California.
2. Students will create and upload content (KARA's library, not just Riipen) to showcase their key findings, which is shared on/within KARA social media accounts, podcast, website, new book and database platform.