Faculty

Beth Gifford is an Assistant Research Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy and Director of Data Initiatives for the Center for Child and Family Policy.  These Data Initiatives include the Durham Children’s Data Center and the North Carolina Education Research Data Center.  Gifford is also leading the Social and Economic Component of the Children’s Health and Discovery Institute housed within the Duke School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics. She is also a Co-PI on two studies that examine the intergenerational effects of parental involvement in the criminal justice system, funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Her primary research interests involve evaluating programs and policies that are designed to improve outcomes for vulnerable children. These populations include children who live in low-income families, are in the juvenile justice system or in foster care, require special education or have emotional and or behavioral problems.