IAR Associates and the Institute of Applied Research are independent research and consulting organizations with offices in St. Louis, Missouri. IAR was founded in 1978. IARA was founded in 2008. Together these organizations have provided research and technical assistance services to state governments and agencies and other public service and community organizations. Areas of special expertise include child welfare and child protection, child care, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, developmental disabilities, welfare and welfare reform, poverty, employment and training,drug courts and issues affecting women and minorities.

Books, Papers and Reports:

This subdirectory contains various papers, powerpoint presentations and reports of projects. All papers and reports are available in PDF format for download.

New: IAR Summary Papers: Reports that summarize IAR studies and research in other areas related to family and child welfare.

1. Financial Hardship and Child Maltreatment: Six Studies in Five States

This report summarized five field experiments and one intensive services study showing the effects of financial assistance on long-term child safety and welfare.

2. Relieving Financial Hardship Improves Child Welfare

This report considers correlational studies in three areas: food, housing and mother-only families. It goes on to summarize field experiments showing the effects of financial assistance on general child welfare and development.

3. Coming soon: Summary studies of solutions to family financial hardship in the United States.

Instruments and Methods:

This subdirectory contains certain instruments and discussions of methods that are freely available to researchers.