Past Projects
SREC has a long history of conducting applied research, evaluating programs, and collaborating with partners to address complex challenges across Louisiana and beyond. Explore selected past research and evaluation projects across SREC's areas of impact.
Chances Innovation Gun Violence Intervention Program
SREC supported the Chances pretrial diversion program through program planning, process evaluation and data analysis to help strengthen implementation of services designed to prevent future gun violence.
Collective Healing in the Wake of Harm
SREC partnered with law enforcement and community organizations on a police-community needs assessment to identify strategies for strengthening relationships and preventing high-profile incidents of violence.
Healthy Communities
SREC supported an LSU AgCenter initiative focused on improving access to healthy foods and activity-friendly routes in rural Louisiana communities through research design, data collection training and analysis.
Hope Zone
Hope Zone implemented community-based strategies to address drivers of crime in six Baton Rouge neighborhoods through initiatives including community crime meetings, legal and blight clinics, and afterschool youth programming.
Innovative Prosecution Solutions
SREC supported an interagency initiative designed to reduce opioid-related deaths and violent crime in East Baton Rouge Parish through research on investigative practices, crime data and social network analysis.
Louisiana Highway Safety Commission Impaired Driving Project
SREC partnered with the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission to examine marijuana- and drug-impaired driving through policy analysis and development of a prevention model addressing individual, community and statewide factors.
MOSES
This Department of Defense project explored how open-source intelligence could strengthen national defense, including research on linguistic approaches to identifying dangerous or threatening online speech. SREC contributed to the interdisciplinary research collaboration.
Pay for Success Initiative
SREC evaluated an outcomes-based initiative providing recovery housing and wraparound support to formerly incarcerated individuals with substance use disorders, examining program enrollment, outcomes and factors affecting treatment success.
Smart and Connected Communities Planning Grant
This NSF-funded planning project brought together LSU researchers and community stakeholders to explore how technology, data and interdisciplinary research could address challenges involving transportation, public safety and community development.
Youth Villages LifeSet Expansion Opportunity
This initiative supported young adults aging out of Louisiana's foster care system by providing case management, guidance and other services designed to ease the transition to adulthood.
BRBytes
SREC served as evaluator for a research-practitioner partnership between LSU and East Baton Rouge Parish Schools designed to expand access to high-quality computer science education and strengthen computer science instruction.
Geaux Math
SREC partnered with East Baton Rouge Parish Schools on a pilot study examining how generative AI could support teachers in providing differentiated small-group math instruction.
IAM Empowering the Next Generation Research Study
SREC conducted a randomized controlled trial with more than 500 students to evaluate the effectiveness of a social-emotional learning curriculum for elementary school students.
Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children's Health
LAUNCH supported behavioral health services, education and systems change for young children and families in Louisiana's Acadiana region.
Louisiana Attendance Alliance
SREC partnered with the Louisiana Department of Education to address chronic absenteeism by building a statewide attendance network and helping identify and re-enroll students who had disengaged from school during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Louisiana Attendance Alliance: City of Baker Schools Enhanced Attendance Implementation
SREC provided technical assistance, professional development and strategic support to help City of Baker Schools identify attendance barriers and develop sustainable systems for improving student attendance.
Louisiana Graduate Network in Applied Evolution
SREC evaluated an NSF-funded initiative providing mentorship, research training and professional networks for post-baccalaureate students pursuing opportunities in the biological sciences and STEM workforce.
Louisiana Healthy Schools
SREC developed and delivered trauma-informed professional development to help Louisiana educators recognize and respond to student needs while supporting health, wellness and educator well-being.
Louisiana School Social Work Expansion Project
SREC served as lead evaluator for an initiative to expand and strengthen Louisiana's school-based mental health workforce, supporting statewide data collection, needs assessment, student mental health screening and school climate surveys.
Louisiana SELA Program
SREC developed and delivered professional development supporting Louisiana's statewide approach to integrating social-emotional learning and academics, while providing training and support to educators and school leaders.
Project AWARE
SREC partnered with the Louisiana Department of Education and other organizations to expand school-based behavioral health services and trauma-informed practices. SREC supported data collection, professional development, behavioral health screening and student referral procedures.
Truancy Assessment and Service Center
TASC was a statewide initiative addressing school attendance and related challenges among young children and families, serving more than 80,000 children across 32 Louisiana parishes from 1999 to 2012.
Truancy Court Analysis
LSU analyzed outcomes for children referred to Truancy Court to determine whether court referral was associated with improvements in school attendance.
Youth Empowerment Program
This afterschool program provided academic assistance, social-emotional development and enrichment activities to fourth- and fifth-grade boys in two Baton Rouge schools.
Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic – Planning, Development and Implementation
SREC served as evaluator for Capital Area Human Services District's implementation of the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic model, using data to assess implementation, improve services and track client outcomes.
COVID-19 Emergency Response for Suicide Prevention
This initiative supported suicide prevention and services for adults and families affected by the mental health, social and economic challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Emergency COVID-19 Project
SREC provided data collection, measurement and reporting for a Louisiana behavioral health initiative serving vulnerable populations affected by the pandemic, including people with substance use disorders or serious mental illness.
Louisiana Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program
SREC supported data collection, management and analysis for an initiative designed to improve dementia-friendly care, strengthen Louisiana's healthcare workforce and improve outcomes for people with dementia and their caregivers.
LA SBIRT Student Training Program
This initiative strengthened the behavioral health workforce by training social work students, medical residents and supervisors in screening and services for young people with substance use and co-occurring disorders.
Louisiana Strategic Prevention Framework for Prescription Drugs Evaluation
SREC developed and implemented an evaluation plan for Louisiana's prescription drug prevention initiative, supporting process and outcome evaluation and federal reporting.
Providing Screening Incentives to Inform Clinical Improvement and Client Outcomes
This workforce development initiative trained behavioral health providers to use measurement-based care to track client progress, guide treatment decisions and improve outcomes.
State Adolescent and Transitional Aged Youth Treatment Enhancement and Dissemination Implementation
This SAMHSA-funded initiative strengthened screening, treatment and support for adolescents and young adults with substance use and co-occurring disorders through provider training, systems improvement and community engagement.
State Epidemiology Workgroup – LSU SREC Partnership
SREC supported Louisiana's State Epidemiology Workgroup by collecting, analyzing and communicating substance-use data to inform state and community prevention planning and decision-making.
Strategic Prevention Framework – Partnerships for Success
SREC evaluated Louisiana's initiative to reduce underage drinking and strengthen prevention capacity in high-need communities, while providing analytical support to the State Epidemiology Workgroup.
Zero Suicide in Health Systems
SREC supported Louisiana's Zero Suicide Initiative through data collection, analysis and reporting to help improve suicide prevention, screening, treatment and referral efforts across participating sites.
Documenting Food Networks and Pathways in Coastal Louisiana
This multidisciplinary project examined subsistence food networks in five Louisiana parishes to inform food security and community resilience planning. SREC supported GIS mapping and analysis of project outcomes.
Inland From the Coast
This multidisciplinary project examined environmental vulnerability, community health and well-being, and strategies for strengthening the resilience of inland and coastal communities. SREC helped develop measures of community health and well-being and gather data to inform planning and design practices.