About CFS

The Department of Child & Family Studies (CFS) is one of four departments within the de la Parte Institute at the University of South Florida. The Chair of CFS is Professor Mario Hernandez, Ph.D.

Within CFS, many functions are managed at the Divisional level. This structure allows for efficient deployment of resources and clustering of like activities. However, many projects and activities include staff members from different divisions, and feature collaboration with the Institute and University communities.

Vision

The Department of Child and Family Studies is committed to improving the well-being of individuals, children, and families within communities across the country through promoting respect, inclusion, development, achievement, mental health, and an optimum quality of life.

Mission

• Generate hope and solutions for the complex issues confronting individuals, children, families and communities through leadership in research and evaluation, theory, policy, and practice innovation.
• Support the development of new knowledge and innovative practices through research.
  
• Advance the effective application of the best available practices in communities and agencies through education, training, dissemination, consultation, evaluation, advocacy, and collaboration.
• Demonstrate a sensitivity to and understanding of the cultural, economic, and social diversity of our society through the manner in which we conduct our work and the outcomes of that work.
• Promote accountability and improvement of services through supporting and influencing local, state, and federal policy-making bodies, funding agencies, communities and neighborhoods, and other organizations that support individuals and families.

Values

Values are those beliefs essential to reaching the vision, mission and the purpose of the mission. Our beliefs are demonstrated by the respectful and professional ways in which we conduct research, our efforts at teaching, training, and sharing information, and our partnerships with the individuals and families that we serve.

We believe that families and communities are the foundation for the well-being of their members and of society as a whole.

Within the CFS work environment—

• Our mission can best be accomplished in a professional and supportive environment that relies on the contribution of every member of the department and that values the diversity of individuals in the department and multi disciplinary approaches that result from their collaboration.
  
• We should pursue the active participation of stakeholders in development of research, programs, policy, and the delivery of services.
  
• We should be accountable for our work and believe that it should result in outcomes that are valued by our stakeholders.

Regarding CFS activities—

• Services should have empirical support, represent community collaboration, and be delivered in the most natural environment possible
  
• All services and supports should be provided in an individualized and inclusive manner that is sensitive to the diversity of developmental, social, economic, cultural, and familial circumstances.

CFS Governance Document

This document describes key governance structures and functions for the Department of Child and Family Studies (CFS) at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute (FMHI). [156kb pdf]