Press Releas: CPJ Publishes 2023 Hatfield Prize Reports
For Immediate Release
September 28, 2023
Press Contact: Debora Haede, debora.haede@cpjustice.org, (202) 695-2667
Center for Public Justice Releases New Research on WIC Participation of Immigrant Women and Children, Human Trafficking Prevention and Victim Aftercare Response, and Prison Education Programs
ALEXANDRIA, VA — Today the Center for Public Justice (CPJ), a Christian civic education and public policy research organization based in Alexandria, VA, released new academic research conducted by three undergraduate student-faculty pairs. Now in its sixth year, The Hatfield Prize honors the late Senator Mark O. Hatfield, a U.S. Senator from Oregon known for integrating his Christian faith and his public policy commitments. The Hatfield Prize is made possible through the generous support of the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust and the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The findings and conclusions presented in The Hatfield Prize reports are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of these foundations.
This year’s awardees are three student-and-faculty pairs from Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) institutions: Kailani West (‘23) and Greg Burch, Ph.D., at Multnomah University, Adriana Cisneros Emerson (‘23) and Isabella Cavalcanti Junqueira, Ph.D., at LeTourneau University, and Emily Steen (‘23) and Mark Mulder, Ph.D., at Calvin University.
“I am really pleased with both the timeliness and scholarship of each of the Hatfield Prize reports this year” Emily Crouch, Program Director of Shared Justice at the Center for Public Justice said. “As policy debates on WIC and SNAP continue in Congress, Christian colleges and universities explore ways to support returning citizens beyond the education programs they run for prisoners, and more and more citizens are aware of the human trafficking happening in their communities, this year’s Hatfield Prize reports provide an important contribution to conversations around how Christian citizens can respond to the needs neighbors.”
Research this year includes “Nourishing Communities: Promoting Equitable WIC Participation for Immigrant Women and Children in Oregon’s Rockwood Community,” (West and Burch), “Pathways to Restoration: A Holistic Approach to Preventing Human Trafficking and Supporting Survivors in East Texas,” (Cisneros Emerson and Cavalcanti Junqueira), and “From Incarceration to Integration: Reentry Care in Prison Education Programs in West Michigan,” (Steen and Mulder).
Through the Hatfield Prize reports, award recipients integrate faith with academic scholarship, pursuing today’s pressing social challenges through a public justice framework that recognizes the unique roles and responsibilities of government and civil society. Students, with support from their faculty advisors, articulate the normative principles that ought to guide society’s response to issues like the social safety net, and then make practical applications and recommendations for ways in which government and civil society can promote human flourishing in their local communities.
This year the reports are available online at https://cpjustice.org/resources-for-you/students-and-scholars/awards/hatfield-2023/. Students and faculty advisors are available for interviews regarding their research findings.
###
The Hatfield Prize is awarded annually to three Christian student-faculty pairs at a four-year college or university to conduct research on policies that impact vulnerable children, families, and communities. The Hatfield Prize is made possible through the generous support of the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Shared Justice is the Center for Public Justice’s program for college students and young adults exploring the intersection of faith, politics, and public justice. Shared Justice provides Christian young adults with access to mentorship, a learning community, and a platform for practicing citizenship.
The Center for Public Justice is an independent, nonpartisan organization devoted to policy research and civic education. Working outside the familiar categories of right and left, conservative and liberal, we seek to help citizens and public officeholders respond to God’s call to do justice.