Mission of the Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans and Military Families
The mission of the Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families (CIR) at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work is to enhance the visibility and impact of research, education and outreach to inform decision-makers on policy issues affecting veterans and their families.
Through education and training, innovation, research and partnerships, CIR bridges the gap between military and civilian communities. The center guides behavioral health practitioners, develops new technologies, informs policymakers, builds community networks and produces research with real-world applications.
The center’s researchers are exploring ways to address these and other problems through better policies and practices. Current research projects, include:
- Using artificial intelligence to predict suicidal tendencies among service members and veterans
- Motivating service members and their loved ones to seek needed health care
- Creating supportive schools for the children of military parents
- Evaluating government programs that provide direct services to veterans
- The development and testing of a virtual client as a tool for training social work graduate students in clinical practice with the Department of Defense
- Improved training for behavioral health care providers in evidence-based practice for treating post-traumatic stress disorder with the Department of Defense
- Advancing the integration and acceptance of LGBT service members in the military with the Department of Defense
- Examining the health and wellness in military spouses with the Army
- Examining social networks in the military and their impact on the health and well-being of service members
- Effective skills training for the prevention of sexual assault
- Comprehensive soldier and family fitness
- A pilot examination of a transition employment program
- The invisible wounds of sexual assault in the military
- Exploring the economic and employment challenges facing U.S. veterans
- Suicide among severely wounded veterans