HDFS is committed to the well-being and healthy development of individuals and families. Faculty are social and behavioral scientists and practitioners with training across several disciplines, engaging in classroom and community teaching, multidisciplinary research, and outreach collaborations. Faculty address critical issues facing children and families in society. Individual faculty members have expertise in diverse and specific areas of study, such as the study of grief, family economics, early education, intergenerational interactions, and development during infancy, early childhood, adolescence, and older adulthood. The department's work aligns with federal and state foci on our nation's most vulnerable members infants and young children, at-risk youth, families in poverty, individuals with disabilities, immigrant families, the frail elderly, cultural minorities, and the disenfranchised. Through innovative outreach, the department seeks to improve professional and public efforts to understand risk and protective factors in the lives of children, youth, families, and communities that impact healthy functioning.