Discipline

Jean Kelly is Co-Director of the Center on Infant Mental Health & Development at the University of Washington, a partnership between the School of Nursing and the Center on Human Development and Disability.  She is also Professor of Family and Child Nursing and Director of NCAST-AVENUW, an organization that develops and disseminates research-based products and training to provide nurturing environments for young children. Dr. Kelly’s research focus is on how early caregiving affects children’s development, including children at high social risk, those diagnosed with delays and/or disabilities, and typically developing children. She developed and published a research- and practice-based preventive intervention program to enhance caregiver-child relationships, both in home-visiting and center-based programs. She also directs Promoting First Relationships, a prevention program dedicated to promoting young children’s social-emotional development through responsive, nurturing caregiver-child relationships. She is chair of the Center on Human Development and Disability Early Intervention Task Force and is on the governing board of the Washington State Child Care Resource and Referral Network.