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Senator Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs
Building Knowledge for Policy and Practice in Southern New Jersey
Safeguarding health, improving the economy, and promoting wellness will require decisions about how to mobilize and allocate assets across the state. Organizations are advocating for resources in their local service areas, and government and philanthropic leaders are creating programs that aim to allocate resources equitably. With the goal of providing information to aid these decisions, this brief describes the timeline of COVID-19 progression at the municipality-level across New Jersey.
WRI is partnering on a statewide, collective ethnography designed to gather and transform the personal accounts of New Jersey residents, especially those who have faced increased marginalization or greater risk as a result of the pandemic, into the building blocks of a more resilient, compassionate and Healthy New Jersey.
Given the uncertainty that families face because of the public health and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, direct service work has become indispensable. WRI developed a qualitative evaluation project early in the pandemic to examine the range of responses from a group of direct service organizations as they acknowledged, responded to, and worked to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on the families and communities they serve.
WRI is pleased to welcome entrepreneur and training facilitator John Childress to coordinate and lead WRI’s work with the Burlington County Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Planning Board (BCJDP). In this role, he will provide technical assistance to Burlington City, Pemberton Township and Willingboro for juvenile delinquency prevention planning and implementation activities, as well as support the Burlington County Partnership for Youth Success initiative.
WRI joins the Community Planning and Advocacy Council (CPAC) in Camden County as its research partner, focused on evaluating the efficacy of current services and assessing needs. The Human Services Needs Assessment in Camden County will employ quantitative and qualitative analysis using a mix of county data mining, stakeholder interviews, and virtual focus groups to determine the county’s priority needs and service areas.
The Cumberland County Overdose Fatality Review Team (CCOFRT) aims to reduce opioid misuse and overdose fatalities in Cumberland County through a comprehensive assessment to better understand the factors which contribute to overdose and substance use disorders, and using this information, improve its substance use and mental health case management and services to reduce overdose fatalities. WRI will serve as the County’s research partner.