A new center to address national and state policy concerning families has found a home at Iowa State.

ISU will be the home of the new Center for Family Policy, a unit of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. The center will address national and state issues involving people whose qualities of life are adversely affected by economic, social or developmental circumstances.

“This new Center for Family Policy will enable Iowa State to further address public policy issues that affect the well-being of Iowa families and the communities in which they live,” said Maurice MacDonald, professor and chair of the human development and family studies department.

The state Board of Regents approved the initiation of the center at its meeting on Feb. 20 in Iowa City.

Iowa State’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences and Professor Jacque Lempers will oversee the center, which will also involve 16 faculty members and eight graduate assistants.

“We’re excited about this,” said Beverly Crabtree, dean of the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. “We’ve been wanting to develop it for the past 10 years.”

The center will not cost the college or the university any money because it involves the concentration of many projects already in progress. These projects, which look into family issues, involve several faculty and graduate students in the college.

Most of the work is “already well underway,” Crabtree said. “This will provide a focal point.”

The Center for Family Policy will collaborate on research with other universities, businesses and government officials, she said. The center will also give advice to government officials concerning policies having to do with families and communities.

Maurice MacDonald, professor in the human development and family studies department, said the center will be conducting a household survey in Iowa to examine the impact of stricter welfare regulations on children whose parents receive government aid.

In addition to research, the center will assist employee training programs and local, state and federal government agencies that serve individuals and families.