Child Division Facilities
The Flipse Building, a state of the art facility located on the Coral Gables campus, is the academic heart of the Child Division. On-site facilities include four laboratories with one way mirrors and state-of-the-art computer-assisted video systems for recording and coding interaction, as well as a sound-attenuated interaction chamber. Approximately 50 networked personal computers are in use for writing and data analysis. In addition, several advanced servers are used for large-scale database analysis, computer analysis of videotaped interactions, and other tailored applications.
The Linda Ray Intervention Center (LRIC), a facility for interventions with high risk inner-city infants serves as a "total service school" for multiple research projects. A former inner city crack house, the building has been renovated by a non-profit organization, Infants In Need, Inc., with donations of money, materials and labor from philanthropists, industry and the trade unions.
The Center for Autism and Related Disabilities is a well funded program offering opportunities for research and training in the understanding the nature of Pervasive Developmental Disorders.
The Autism and Developmental Disorders Monitoring Network or ADDM - The Florida node of ADDM is an important research resource housed in the Child Division. The goal of the ADDM Network is to provide comparable, population-based estimates of prevalence rates of autism and related disorders at different sites over time.
Children's Registry and Information System or CHRIS is a statewide database developed, maintained, and housed at the Child Division of the Psychology Department that tracks children who receive services under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The CHRIS database provides research opportunities related to locating, evaluating, and providing necessary services to at-risk children. This resource also provides a useful tool for service coordination.
Child Division researchers also work with several Community Resources. The faculty have extensive collaborations with local agencies that serve as sites for research studies including the Dade County Public Schools and Dade County Head Start.
The following facilities are also affiliated with the Child Division at the University of Miami:
The University of Miami's Mailman Center is a nationally-recognized research and clinical training facility. With over 13,000 patient visits per year, the Mailman Center provides a wealth of clinical services for children and older individuals with disabilities, within a family-centered and culturally competent environment.
The Debbie Institute is a center for research and training that provides center-based programs for families and infants who have disabilities or are at risk for developmental delays. The Institute is the base for grants that provide programs for teen mothers and their infants, for a national collaborative grant to investigate the impact of early intervention on children born to mothers with less than 12 years of education, and for other related programs.
The Batchelor Children's Research Institute is the home of the Maternal Lifestyle Study, a local site of a nation-wide investigation of the impact of prenatal drug exposure on infant and child development. Facilities include computer-linked video and physiological data recording suites, computer-assisted video-coding workstations, and ongoing administration of age-appropriate behavioral protocols.