UB's Mangold Named Lead Academic to NIH/NIMH Research Team

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- University at Buffalo Law School Professor Susan V. Mangold has been selected the leading academic for one of 15 teams accepted for a cooperative research conference sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and National Institute of Mental Health.

The conference, to be held in San Jose, Calif., Feb. 6-10, will bring academic researchers and community administrators together in weeklong workshops to examine issues of public health. Mangold, co-director of UB's Program for Excellence in Family Law and an expert in child welfare law, is the lead academic researcher for a group weighing the impact of local funding strategies on child welfare.

The conference, called the NIH/NIMH Community-based Participatory Research Approaches to Sustaining Healthy Families and Multicultural Communities Research Institute, accepted 15 teams -- including Mangold's -- from more than 40 proposals applying for sponsorships from the NIH/NIMH.

Mangold will be joined by Crystal Allan, director of the Public Children's Services Association of Ohio, who will serve as the lead community partner in the research group, and Greg Kapcar, a colleague at the Ohio agency. Also included in the research team is Catherine Cerulli, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University at Rochester. Roger Ward, representing the State of Ohio, will work with the team via conference calls during and after the February sessions.

"We are looking at whether the type of funding, not the amount, impacts child welfare outcomes," says Mangold. "Our preliminary findings indicate that local funding with flexibility, reliability and accountability leads to better outcomes."

Mangold says she and her research team will work at the institute to develop a study to test that hypothesis. Child welfare is funded by federal/state/local matching funds. Ohio uses more local funds than any state; 44 of its 88 counties have dedicated tax levies for child welfare services.

Information on the institute can be found at http://www.rochesterpreventsuicide.org/pdf/suicide_brochure_final.pdf.

Since its founding in 1887, the University at Buffalo Law School -- the State University of New York system's only law school -- has established an excellent reputation and is widely regarded as a leader in legal education. Its cutting-edge curriculum provides both a strong theoretical foundation and the practical tools graduates need to succeed in a competitive marketplace, wherever they choose to practice. A special emphasis on interdisciplinary studies, public service and opportunities for hands-on clinical education makes UB Law unique among the nation's premier public law schools.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.