Stephen A. Small Professor, Human Development and Family Studies Ph.D., 1985, Cornell University Room 201, Human Ecology Phone: (608) 263-5688 Email: sasmall@wisc.edu

Professor Small joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty in 1985 after completing his Ph.D. in Human Development at Cornell University. He holds faculty appointments in Human Development and Family Studies, Social Work and with the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension. In addition, Prof. Small serves as the Director of the Center for Excellence in Family Studies. Dr. Small has served as a member of the Wisconsin State Legislature's Special Committee on Teen Pregnancy Prevention, the National Research Council's Committee on School Violence and the National Academy of Science’s Forum on Adolescence. He has testified on federal drug policy for the U.S. Senate and on youth issues for the Wisconsin State Legislature. Most recently he worked with the Governor’s Commission on Juvenile Justice. Prof. Small currently serves as a commissioner for the City of Madison’s Community Services Commission.

RESEARCH STATEMENT
Prof. Small's interests span both research and its practical application. His work is primarily focused on adolescent and adult development, parenting, program design and evaluation and prevention science. For more than 20 years he has been working with communities across Wisconsin and the nation to help them understand and address the concerns, aspirations, and positive and problematic behaviors of young people and their families. This program of research and action has addressed a range of issues including adolescent risk-taking, juvenile delinquency, positive youth development, mental health, sexuality, drug use, parenting, parent-child relations, and building organizational and community capacity.

Prof. Small is currently investigating the effectiveness of parenting books for parents of adolescents. Another project examines the effects of extracurricular activities on youth. He recently completed a three year project involving the implementation of a family strengthening program conducted collaboratively with the Hmong community in Eau Claire, WI.

In his outreach work with Cooperative Extension, Prof. Small has been working with family and youth organizations around the state to identify and implement effective youth and family prevention and promotion programs. He and students recently developed a process known as Evidence Informed Program Improvement that can be used to improve the quality and effectiveness of youth and family programs. The process draws on principles of evidence-based programs and helps practitioners bring their own programs in line with these principles.

Prof. Small has a strong interest in public policy related to families and youth and in video, radio, the Internet and other forms of media as educational tools for strengthening families and individuals.

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS
Small, S.A., Cooney, S. & O’Connor, C. (in press). Evidence-based program improvement: Using principles of effectiveness to enhance the quality and impact of family-based prevention programs. Family Relations.

Cooney, S.M., Small, S.A. & O’Connor, C. (2008). Girls in the juvenile justice system: Toward effective gender-responsive programming. What Works, Wisconsin Research to Practice Series, 7. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin-Extension. http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/families/whatworks_07.pdf

O’Connor, C., Small, S.A. & Cooney, S.M. (2007). Culturally appropriate prevention programming: What do we know about evidence-based programs for culturally and ethnically diverse youth and their families? What Works, Wisconsin Research to Practice Series, 1. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin-Madison/Extension. http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/families/whatworks_01.pdf

Small, S., Tiwari, G., & Huser, M. (2006). The cultural education of academic evaluators: Lessons from a university-Hmong community partnership. American Journal of Community Psychology, 37, 357-364.

Supple, A. & Small, S. (2006). The influence of parental support, knowledge, and authoritative parenting on Hmong and European American adolescent development. Journal of Family Issues, 27, 1214-1232.

Small, S. & Covalt, B. (2006). Adolescence and the family: Myths and realities. In F. Villarruel & T. Luster (Eds.), The Crisis in Mental Health: Critical Issues and Effective Programs, Vol. 2: Issues in Adolescence, (pp. 1-25). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Small, S., Reynolds, A., O’Connor, C. & Cooney, S. (June 2005). What Works, Wisconsin: What Science Tells Us about Cost-Effective Programs for Juvenile Delinquency Prevention. A Report to the Wisconsin Governor’s Juvenile Justice Commission and the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance. Madison, WI: School of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin. http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/families/whatworkswisconsin.pdf

Small, S. & Uttal, L. (2005). Action-oriented research: Strategies for engaged scholarship. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 67, 936-948.

Small, S. (2005). Bridging research and practice in the family and human sciences, Family Relations, 54, 320-334.

Small, S. & Memmo, M. (2004). Contemporary models of youth development and problem prevention: Toward an integration of concepts, terms and models. Family Relations, 53, 3-11.