Long-running research center in Kansas City celebrated in scholarly journal

LAWRENCE — Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, part of the Life Span Institute at the University of Kansas, is focus of a special issue of the peer-reviewed journal Education and Treatment of Children.

The issue pays tribute to strides the center has made to improve children’s social well-being and academic achievement over the past 60 years as well as its accomplishments in scholarly research and training early career scientists. Juniper Gardens was established in the mid-1960s, when residents of Kansas City, Kansas, partnered with KU faculty to address “common problems related to parenting, teaching and community life” in a low-income neighborhood.

It is “perhaps the longest-running community-engaged research center in the United States,” according to the introduction to the special issue.

“Juniper Gardens was founded with a different philosophy: doing research with and for the community,” said Trina Spencer, director of Juniper Gardens and KU professor of applied behavioral science. “We are not conducting science on people, and we are not studying ‘subjects.’ Community members are co-creators of knowledge, and they are in the best position to identify what problems need to be solved. That ‘with’ is just as important as the ‘for,’ because the people experiencing the problem help design solutions that are feasible, socially valid and effective in real contexts.”

Today, Juniper Gardens' mission remains the same — to improve the quality of care children receive through sustained partnerships and rigorous research. 

“Numerous people told me Juniper Gardens is the best-kept secret,” said Spencer, who became director two years ago. “One of my first priorities was to remind people how amazing Juniper Gardens is and about the contributions they’ve made to research, education and clinical practice.”

To highlight the center’s legacy, Charles Greenwood, former longtime director of Juniper Gardens and senior scientist emeritus at the Life Span Institute, led the development of the special issue.

“Charlie Greenwood is a treasure and a legend,” Spencer said. “It’s a privilege to have his experience guiding me as I direct Juniper Gardens. He has been a historian and a steady leader for this center, and it’s important that this work sincerely honors his role in shaping who we are.”

The special issue is organized around themes of intervention, measurement and leadership, with articles primarily written by KU researchers affiliated with the center.

“Those areas — intervention, measurement and leadership — are siloed only in print, not in practice,” Spencer said. “You can’t design interventions without measurement tools to identify need, track progress and determine effectiveness. And none of that works without leadership — the ability to collaborate, influence and respect lived expertise alongside scientific expertise.”

For each theme, the issue examines problems addressed by the center and solutions developed through community-engaged behavioral research; progress in the discipline and professional understanding, including methodologies and technologies; the establishment of practices at scale through programs and policies; and future implications.

“In my view, Juniper Gardens is the quintessential research collaborative,” Spencer said. “We’ve been doing this work for 60 years — long before others began talking about community-engaged research. This special issue isn’t just about celebrating past successes; it shows how our investigators are building on that legacy to create contemporary solutions to current problems.”

Spencer said she is committed to ensuring Juniper Gardens remains at the forefront of all the fields it informs, including special education, early childhood education, behavior science, psychology and speech-language pathology.

“What this work requires is cognitive flexibility and adaptability, along with the constant integration of new technology,” she said. “One of our strategic goals is cultivating a culture where everyone learns — principal investigators, project directors and staff alike. We talk openly about growth, professional development and staying ahead of emerging tools so our work remains relevant and effective.”

Spencer described Juniper Gardens as a collective of rigorous scientists working alongside the community to identify problems, co-develop solutions and determine whether those solutions make a meaningful difference in daily life.

“This isn’t a paradigm shift — it’s a paradigm reminder,” she said. “Where we started is still where we need to be going, and this special issue shows how that foundation can guide the future.”