The project is an excellent match between faculty expertise and the needs of the state: ensuring the safety, stability, and well-being of children and families across New Jersey.

“We’re honored to be trusted with this work,” said Zeitlin. “We see this not just as a two-year project, but the beginning of a long-term collaboration to improve the lives of children and families across New Jersey.”

Supporting a Historic Transition in NJ Child Welfare Oversight

In 2006, New Jersey’s child welfare system came under federal oversight following widespread concerns about its performance. Over the next several years, the state made sweeping changes and improvements under the guidance of a federal monitor. When federal oversight ended, stakeholders created a legislative plan to maintain and build on those gains.

In 2022, state legislation charged the Staffing and Oversight Review Subcommittee (SORS) with producing annual performance reports on the child welfare system’s effectiveness in key areas — a responsibility now supported by Montclair State’s expert faculty.

“I am very proud of our faculty,” said CHSS Dean Fatma Mili. “They are investing their research expertise on some of the most important issues, the welfare of the most vulnerable members of our society. Their work has long lasting lessons and an immediate impact on our society. Professors Zeitlin, Douglas, and Shpiegel are a great example of how a public university can serve the public good.”

Faculty Expertise, National Context

Drawing on deep knowledge of national child welfare trends and access to federal data sets, Montclair’s team will contextualize New Jersey’s progress within a broader national landscape. Their work will include replicating and refining previous analyses, enhancing data storytelling, and helping SORS produce reports that are not only technically rigorous but also accessible and meaningful to stakeholders across the system.

“This work is not just about data — it’s about making sure the data tells the story of what is happening right now, and what is needed to best support children and families who come in contact with the child welfare system,” says Shpiegel.

In year two, the project will expand to incorporate additional indicators and responsibilities outlined in state legislation, with the goal of building a long-term evaluation structure that supports ongoing system improvement.

A Transformative Opportunity for Students and the State

The project also creates rare hands-on opportunities for Montclair students, who will gain exposure to the policy, evaluation, and systems-level challenges facing New Jersey’s child welfare agencies.

“Working directly with faculty on this project, our students will learn how research and evaluation can serve communities and drive real-world change,” says Douglas.

The ambitious goal of the strategic planning efforts will be to produce the first state-level food strategic plan in the country that is based on this definition and the six dimensions of food security (access, availability, utilization, stability, sustainability and agency). After considering many stakeholders and partners, and with the approval of the Governor’s office, OFSA believes that Dr. Ast’s experience as a researcher and evaluator in both the university settings and within a state agency would make her a valuable contributor to the executive committee.

If you’re interested in learning more about the dimensions of food security, please visit .

On her decision to invite Dr. Douglas, Dr. Gushwa says, “Emily is an international expert on child maltreatment facilities and policy & research…She brought a new perspective to Ireland (with) both of her talks. I know Emily to be an engaging speaker, and she did not disappoint. Faculty, students and members of the community are still talking about her presentations and panels. She has started new conversations that will serve us well for some time to come.”

Douglas presented two discussions entitled From Darkness to Light: Preventing Child Maltreatment Fatalities in the United States and Two Ships Passing in the Night: How Researchers Can Bring Evidence to Policy-Makers. 

From Darkness to Light: Preventing Maltreatment Fatalities in the United States discussed the existing knowledge surrounding child maltreatment fatalities in the U.S. and adds essential contextual information regarding victims, perpetrators, family units, and prevalence rates. Dr. Douglas also explored existing intervention points, their success rates, and where blind spots remain with regards to the child welfare and criminal justice systems, child death review teams, safe haven laws, and preventative measures.

Finding gaps at the “intersection of social science research and policy,” Dr. Douglas discussed how to connect the two in Two Ships Passing in the Night: How Researchers Can Bring Evidence to Policy-Makers. She pursued the idea that scholarly based work can be communicated to legislators to help them in developing policies and programs that are substantiated in research.

“I hope that my presentations brought new information about high-risk families and the different approaches that have been implemented in the U.S. to reduce risk to children,” says Dr. Douglas.

Dr. Douglas found the collaborative experience, as well as the opening of the Center for Community Research and Innovation, exciting and inspiring, saying, “So often, universities work in communities for only as long as there is funding and this center plans to work over the long-term.”

The Peterson Prize is presented to an alumna/alumnus who has made outstanding contributions to professional psychology. Such contributions may include innovations in service delivery, education or training, service to under-served populations, and other creative professional efforts that enhance the general welfare.

“I am humbled by this recognition, but also proud to have employed the knowledge, experience, and clinical skills I learned at GSAPP in my professional life,” said Dr. Takagi in receiving the award. “And I have been privileged with opportunities to lead psychological associations in serving the needs of psychologists – in New Jersey and nationally.”

Congratulations, Lucy!

This will be the nation’s first program designed to certify students and professionals in the practices and principles of harm reduction strategies to fight the drug overdose crisis. Through the certificate program, students will research the effectiveness of ongoing/proposed harm reduction intervention programs, and those who are interested will also have opportunities to engage in firsthand harm reduction practices through volunteer experience.

The certificate will introduce students and professionals to a harm reduction approach to substance use disorder, discuss a range of harm reduction services and programs, and offer training on de-stigmatizing, social justice-oriented, trauma-informed engagement strategies with people who use drugs.

“The goal of this first-of-its-kind certificate is to address a gap in knowledge among students from various human services disciplines by providing comprehensive training in harm reduction as an evidence-informed approach to substance use disorder intervention,” says Social Work and Child Advocacy Professor . “����vlog has a vital role to play in addressing the public health needs not only in our nearby counties but the entire state of New Jersey. And as educators, it is our duty to use our resources to help educate our community about evidence-based tools to prevent and address chaotic drug use.”

Gov. Phil Murphy, recognizing the importance of harm reduction practices, signed a in 2022 that introduced harm reduction principles in the state’s fight against opioid overdoses. He further expanded on these efforts by the Narcan 365 program to distribute naloxone for free across the state. With the creation of this certificate, students at Montclair and substance use professionals now have the opportunity to learn about these programs and take action in their communities to help reduce the unnecessary death toll.

“For too long, the ‘Just Say No’ approach to drugs has been the only message our students hear from their educators regarding drug use, leading to unsafe drug use across our communities,” says Kelly LaBar, Project Coordinator at CARES. “The time has come for us to take matters into our own hands in order to stop the unnecessary death toll. By having this online certificate, we can give people across the country the tools to fight back against the overdose epidemic and the unjust War on Drugs that perpetuates the cycle of death and suffering.”

The development of this certificate was supported by a grant from Vital Strategies – a leading international nonprofit dedicated to advancing public health. The development of this certificate was informed by an advisory council of researchers, practitioners and people with firsthand experience with substance use.

For more information on the Harm Reduction Approaches to Substance Abuse certificate program, visit montclair.edu/graduate/programs-of-study/harm-reduction-cert.

This project builds upon a previous successful collaboration between ����vlog, Westchester Institute for Human Development, and Boston University. The partnership was so successful that it was featured as a model in Children’s Voice, a magazine published by the Child Welfare League of America.

In the United States, little is done to identify and provide reasonable accommodations to parents with intellectual disabilities who are involved in child welfare systems, and very few services are available with these families’ unique needs in mind. In fact, little is known about parents with intellectual disabilities more generally. All of this may be attributed, at least in part, to the stigma and discrimination these folks experience in many facets of life.

A small program called Project IMPACT in Valhalla, New York, was designed specifically to meet the needs of this population. It is an intensive in-home program that teaches parenting skills in real-life settings. In Zeitlin’s previous collaboration that was funded by Boston University’s Center for Innovation in Social Work and Health, their research found that 88% of all families participating in Project IMPACT and 98% of families completing the program remained intact one year after ending the program (i.e., their children were not placed in foster care). Those findings, however, are not enough to show that Project IMPACT was actually responsible for those high rates of success. The award that was received from NIH will allow us to determine whether Project IMPACT is actually effective at reducing foster care placement for this high-risk population.

“It is humbling to be professionally recognized by my community of peers in NJ. When I took the presidency of NJPA in 2020, I could not have envisioned that COVID would turn all of our lives upside down,” says Takagi.

Dr. Takagi continues: “As a leader, advocacy, communication and inclusiveness became the primary focus of my presidency. Suddenly, the parity of telehealth reimbursement for needed treatment nationally and in NJ; advocating for the law that allowed NJ to be part of ; and advocating for the amendment to the involved a team of leaders that preceded and worked alongside me.

“I am proud to have brought these efforts to fruition with the help of the NJPA Executive Board, NJPA staff, my colleagues, family and friends, and with the support of the New Jersey Inter-Mental Health and Psychological Associations Coalition (IMPAC), NJABPsi, LMHANJ, and NJPA. This recognition is particularly meaningful to me, as I am an immigrant, as English is my second language, and as I am privileged to work through human suffering and human resilience in my offices daily.”

, Chair of the Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy, says Takagi’s award is well-deserved. “Lucy has worked so hard to represent her psychology colleagues in the state and their clients. Lucy’s advocacy on behalf of others is remarkable. She is an inspiration to many and an important role model for our students.  We are very lucky to call her our colleague.”

This award marks Dr. Takagi’s second in the past year for her contributions and leadership to the psychology profession. In 2021, she was selected for the 2021 Outstanding Psychologist Award from Division 31 of the American Psychological Association. This award honors a psychologist whose distinguished contributions include demonstrating outstanding leadership in State, Provincial and Territorial Psychological Association Affairs (SPTA).

Dr. Takagi is Brazilian, has a Master’s in Educational Psychology from ����vlog and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. She has worked clinically with inner-city, ethnically, financially and culturally diverse populations and with adult and child victims of sexual abuse. She is a trained forensic evaluator and has done assessments and treatments of victims impacted by abuse and neglect as well as by other forms of trauma. She has testified as an expert and fact witness in New Jersey’s civil courts. Dr. Takagi has also evaluated undocumented immigrants applying for documentation.

At Montclair State, Dr. Takagi is the current Graduate Program Coordinator for the Child Advocacy & Policy Program at the Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy, where she has taught courses including Abuse and Neglect, Current Social Issues and graduate Practicum and Seminar in Public Child Welfare courses.

“I would not be here if it wasn’t for Robert D. McCormick, PhD, a psychoanalyst who founded the Center of Child Advocacy and Policy at ����vlog currently in the Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy, where I am privileged to work with the most talented and supportive professionals. Robert valued difference, inclusion, and multiculturalism when those words were not yet popular. He advocated for me in every corner, but unexpectedly passed away in January 2014. Robert, I know you are smiling, and I know you are proud.”
– Lucy Sant’Anna Takagi

Dr. Takagi has worked clinically with inner-city, ethnically, financially and culturally diverse populations and with adult and child victims of sexual abuse. She is a trained forensic evaluator and has done assessments and treatments of victims impacted by abuse and neglect. She has testified as an expert and fact witness in New Jersey’s civil courts. Dr. Takagi has also worked forensically, evaluating undocumented immigrants applying for documentation.

Dr. Takagi is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA); a member of the APA Division 39 (Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology; a member of the APA Division 35 (Society for the Psychology of Women; a member of the APA Division 31 (State, Provincial and Territorial Psychological Association Affairs; a member of the APA Division 45 (Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race; a member of the New Jersey Psychological Association (NJPA); a member of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) and a member of the Latino Mental Health Association of NJ (LMHANJ).

In 2020, Dr. Takagi was elected President of the New Jersey Psychological Association (NJPA); 2019-2021 elected Member at Large (MAL) of the American Psychological Association (APA) Committee of State Leaders (CSL); 2019 Past-President of the Essex County Association of Psychologists (EUCAP), and a Past-President of the GSAPP Alumni Association at Rutgers University.

Dr. Takagi earned her Master’s in Educational Psychology with a concentration on Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychology from ����vlog in 1999. She received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP) at Rutgers University. Dr. Takagi is a licensed Psychologist in New Jersey and New York.

Called “the guardian angel of Montclair State” by her counterpart at Rutgers University, Fanning connected a Montclair State student in need with a local Montclair organization that provided the student with a refurbished laptop. Another organization was able to provide gift cards for groceries and food.

Read the full story here: ““