Published on March 24, 2009

News Release

The Reginald S. Lourie Center for Infants and Young Children Launches Research and Evaluation Initiative

Rockville, MD – The Reginald S. Lourie Center for Infants and Young Children (the Lourie Center) announced today its collaboration with Westat, a leading research organization, to begin a new pilot project aimed at evaluating the Lourie Center’s programs and client intake procedures.  The pilot project is part of the Lourie Center’s Research and Evaluation Initiative and is expected to incorporate new evidence-based methods of processing client intake information as well as evaluate short-term parent/caregiver outcomes to determine areas of strength and potential improvement.

The Lourie Center plans to launch its Research and Evaluation Initiative and share details of the pilot project on Thursday, March 26, during a reception hosted at its Rockville facility from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The event will inform donors and community partners about the Lourie Center and its efforts to refocus on evidence-based practices and training.

“The Lourie Center is very excited to return to its research-based roots and partner with Westat to help measure, standardize and evaluate the effectiveness of its programs for infants, children and their families,” said Tracye Polson, executive director of the Reginald S. Lourie Center for Infants and Young Children. “The pilot program is the first phase of the Research and Evaluation Initiative, which moves us closer to realizing our vision to become the national leader in childhood mental health through empirical research and practice in early childhood education, mental health services and training.  With help from our research collaborators at Westat, we are training our clinicians to also be researchers, in order to build a solid research infrastructure within the Lourie Center.”

With additional funding, the next phase of the project will use data from the pilot program to shape the Lourie Center’s current programming and more precisely assess how the therapeutic approaches adhere to the expectations of each program.  Plans also include the creation of a “best practices” manual, which can be used as a training tool among other behavioral health organizations that offer services for infants and children.

For more information about the Lourie Center’s Research and Evaluation Initiative reception on March 26, please contact Elizabeth Franzino at 301-984-4444.

About the Reginald S. Lourie Center for Infants and Young Children

The Reginald S. Lourie Center for Infants and Young Children  was founded in 1983 by the late Dr. Reginald S. Lourie and his colleagues. The organization evolved from a six-year clinical research project funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. This project demonstrated the value of early identification and intervention to enable children to reach their full potential, developmentally and emotionally.  In 2006, the Lourie Center affiliated with Adventist HealthCare.  Based in Rockville, Maryland the Reginald S. Lourie Center specializes in the assessment, treatment and prevention of emotional, behavioral and developmental problems in infants and young children.