Leveraging Community-University Partnerships to Develop a Strength-Based and Individualized Approach to Humanizing Housing Service Delivery for Individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)

Authors

  • Jacqueline Pei University of Alberta
  • Cheryl Poth
  • Elizabeth Carlson
  • Vannesa Joly
  • Danielle Mattson
  • Nicol Patricny
  • Dorothy Badry
  • Richard Mugford
  • Tracy Mastrangelo
  • Audrey McFarlane

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15402/esj.v8i3.70753

Keywords:

Housing service delivery, community-university partnerships,, marginalized population needs,, housing,, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder

Abstract

This field report summarizes and advances key learnings for leveraging community–university partnerships addressing housing service gaps for high-risk, marginalized populations with complex needs. We describe our navigation of existing and forged intersections to develop a strength-based and individualized approach to humanizing housing service delivery for individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Our account is framed by four questions: why community and university partners came together to develop a responsive approach through the CanFASD network; who became key stakeholders in the partnership; how our humanizing housing approach is guiding the navigation of complexities inherent in service delivery for individuals with FASD; and what insights about creating intersections are we applying to our community-university partnerships. 

Author Biographies

Jacqueline Pei, University of Alberta

is a Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta, and co-founder of the Alberta Clinical and Community-Based Evaluation Research Team. She is Senior Research Lead for the Canada FASD Research Network which supports her interest in linking research, policy, and practice. 

Cheryl Poth

is a professor in the Centre for Applied Measurement and Evaluation within the Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Alberta, and co-founder of the Alberta Clinical and Community-Based Evaluation Research Team. Her research interests include evaluation use with particular emphasis on developmental, participatory, and collaborative evaluations. 

Elizabeth Carlson

is a school and clinical child psychology graduate student at the University of Alberta. Elizabeth takes a collaborative, wholistic, and strengths-based approach to working with youth with complex needs. She strives to learn ways of improving assessment practices to best serve youth and their families. 

Vannesa Joly

is enrolled in the School and Clinical Child Psychology (SCCP) doctoral program at the University of Alberta. She completed her Masters of Education in 2020 and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 2017, at the University of Alberta. Vannesa is enthusiastic about community-based research and program evaluation. 

Danielle Mattson

is a PhD student in the University of Alberta’s School and Clinical Child Psychology program. She is also a member of the ACCERT research team and is particularly interested in studying mental health and the factors that contribute to positive psychosocial outcomes for youth with complex needs.

Nicol Patricny

is a registered psychologist in Alberta who provides clinical services to individuals experiencing occupational stress injuries. She graduated from the School and Clinical Child Psychology doctoral program and Counselling Psychology Master’s program at the University of Alberta. Her research has focused on protective factors in at-risk populations. 

Dorothy Badry

is a professor in the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary with 16 years in child welfare. Research focus includes FASD and child welfare issues, suicide prevention in FASD, disability, FASD prevention, housing and homelessness, post-secondary education on FASD and child advocacy. 

Richard Mugford

has spent his career developing and managing programs addressing homelessness for youth, families, and individuals, as well as programs that support individuals and families living with an FASD. 

Tracy Mastrangelo

has focused her career in the social work and education fields. Her work has focused primarily on supporting families and children/youth with complex needs through relational approaches to support individual success. Tracy has a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on psychosocial interventions in school communities. 

Audrey McFarlane

is the Executive Director for the Canada Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Research Network. She was one of the founders of the Lakeland Centre for FASD and led this organization for almost 20 years. As the Executive Director of the national research network in FASD, she directs and encourages research in areas of FASD that is meaningful to families, individuals with FASD, policy makers, service providers and to promote healthy pregnancies. 

References

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Published

2022-12-22

How to Cite

Pei, J., Poth, C., Carlson, E., Joly, V., Mattson, D., Patricny, N., … McFarlane, A. (2022). Leveraging Community-University Partnerships to Develop a Strength-Based and Individualized Approach to Humanizing Housing Service Delivery for Individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Engaged Scholar Journal: Community-Engaged Research, Teaching, and Learning, 8(3), 55–64. https://doi.org/10.15402/esj.v8i3.70753

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 3 (2022): Summer 2022

Section

Reports from the Field

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