The Children's Research Centre at Trinity College has received a philanthropic gift of £450,000 which will greatly aid the work the centre performs, according to its programme director, Mr Barry Cullen.
The funding will support research over the next three years on issues concerning children and young people including early school-leaving, juvenile crime and children's experiences of drug problems.
Mr Cullen said a private grant of £270,000 allowed the centre to come into existence in 1995 and since then it has attracted more than £500,000 in grants and commissions from Government Departments, State agencies and voluntary trusts.
The centre has a multi-disciplinary staff of nine, which includes social work and community development expertise, psychologists, a sociologist and an education specialist. "Most of the research we do is related to practice in the field and children's needs in the field," Mr Cullen said. "We are very much an applied research centre."
It has carried out work for Government Departments including Justice and Law Reform, Health and Children, and Education, Science and Technology. It also provides services for the health boards and groups such as Combat Poverty.
Mr Cullen said drug use among young people and the impact it has on their lives is a core issue for the centre. It is engaged in research on the effects of parental drug use and how living in a high-risk drug environment affects children.
It also studies the quality and effectiveness of the services provided in support of children and young people. Its findings are used to formulate policy and to make adjustments to existing practice.
"We see policy development as a key area of our research," Mr Cullen said.