Greetings,

Each year millions of children and adolescents in the US are reported to child protective agencies for maltreatment such as neglect, physical, sexual, and, or emotional abuse. Many experience additional trauma including exposure to domestic abuse, community violence, life-threatening illness or injury, or the sudden loss of a caregiver or loved one.

Without support and services, child and adolescent victims of maltreatment face the possibility of a lifetime of mental, emotional, behavioral, and physical health problems. With the additional trauma and stress inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic, more families than ever are in need of services, but many remain challenged to find providers.

Mt. Hope Family Center has recently been awarded a grant from SAMHSA (The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) to create Project Sustaining Change. This new initiative will provide training and consultation for child- and family-serving organizations, expanding access to evidence-based treatment for children and youth who have had traumatic experiences. Training will be targeted to child-serving organizations nationally and will include over 1000 professionals trained over the course of the project. Evidence-based interventions and principles of trauma-informed care exist that can successfully impact the lives of individuals who have experienced trauma. Sustaining Change can offer hope through its network of supports and prepare the next generation of supervisors and practitioners to implement evidence-based trauma treatments into practice in sustainable ways.

Please consider making a gift today to ensure that our programs remain adequately funded and the children and families we serve have the resources they need in difficult—often urgent—situations. Your gift, large or small, will directly benefit local children and families who need it most.

On behalf of the families we serve, thank you.

Sheree L. Toth, Ph.D.
Executive Director

Fred Rogosch Research Award Update

Mt. Hope Family Center has exciting news to share about the Fred Rogosch Research Award. A letter from University of Rochester President Sarah C. Mangelsdorf recently shared the following decree:

“Rogosch, Fred, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology with tenure, will be appointed instead as Professor Emeritus of Psychology effective September 1, 2022.”

The Board of Trustees wished to acknowledge posthumously the significant role of Professor Rogosch’s work during his more than 31 years of service in helping to shape the University of Rochester. They are grateful and pleased to recognize his accomplishments.

We are honored to continue Fred’s legacy at Mt. Hope Family Center, as well. In early 2021, a memorial fund was established in his name. The Fred Rogosch Research Award is given annually to a University of Rochester graduate student or post-doctoral fellow who has made significant contributions to the field of Developmental Psychopathology.

The first two recipients of the Fred Rogosch Award are:

Jennifer Warmingham, a clinical student whose research focused on understanding the complex developmental processes related to intergenerational transmission, emotion regulation, and child maltreatment. Jennifer had several papers published in top-tier journals and completed her internship in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Jen is currently completing her post-doctoral fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center.

Justin Russotti’s research is solidly grounded in the developmental psychopathology framework and focuses on intergenerational processes associated with parenting, child maltreatment, stress-regulation, and depression. He has published in a number of top-tier journals including Developmental Psychology, Development and Psychopathology, Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, Child Maltreatment.

Annual recipients will be awarded the Fred Rogosch Research Award as long as the fund allows. Please consider supporting this fund as part of your annual contribution. You may give online at rochester.edu/giving/mhfcgift. Thank you!