The Institute's mission is to bring together the resources of citizens, governments, communities and Indiana University to better the lives of children and families. Ongoing research projects examine the impacts of welfare reforms, the adequacy of child support guidelines, community responses to the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families legislation, and AIDS education for incarcerated youth. The Institute serves as the National Child Support Enforcement Research Clearinghouse. It also administers a university-wide competitive student internship program in collaboration with the Indiana Family Social Service Administration. The Midwestern Regional Center is one of six centers in the nation.
Research focuses on energy policy issues and the analysis of energy-related environmental risks.
The center trains environmental scientists and prepares public education programs on global climate change. The Political Science Data Laboratory and Archive The Data Laboratory and Archive contain over 2000 data sets and machine readable codebooks. The Lab offers consulting and instruction in the use of computer facilities on the campus as well as providing data sets for graduate student research. TRC continues Indiana University's tradition in transportation research, service, and education. Researching highway safety, aviation safety, transportation economics, and the transport of hazardous materials are recent projects.