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Collaborative Research Methods to Elevate the Voices of Youth, Adult Caregivers & Providers in Child and Family-Focused Studies

September 29, 2022
Time: 2:00 p.m. CT
Location: Virtual

Part of the Building a Transformative 21st Century Research Agenda webinar series. Register on the Open Classroom platform.*

Dr. Mary McKay will copresent with Brittany Mihalec-Adkins, a graduate student at Purdue University and expert with lived experience.

Webinar Description

This webinar will focus on collaborative research methods to open up continuous opportunities to shape needed studies.

About Our Presenters

Mary McKay is the current president of AASWSW, and the vice provost of interdisciplinary initiatives at Washington University in St. Louis. She also served as the first female dean at WashU during her six-year tenure at the Brown School. McKay’s academic experience connects deeply to both social work and public health. She has received substantial federal funding for research focused on meeting the mental health and health prevention needs of youth and families impacted by poverty. She also has significant expertise in child mental health services and implementation research methods, as well as over 20 years of experience conducting HIV prevention and care-oriented studies, supported by the National Institutes of Health. McKay has authored more than 150 publications on mental and behavioral health, HIV/AIDS prevention and urban poverty, and more.

Brittany P. Mihalec-Adkins is a former foster youth (Indiana) and Lived Experience Expert. Brittany is completing her PhD in Human Development and Family Studies at Purdue University, where she has also completed a Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology. Brittany’s research explores the lived experiences of parents and families who are subjected to non-voluntary state-mandated interventions (e.g., in the child welfare system and the criminal justice system), and the implications of these experiences for family well-being and community policy solutions.

Partners Supporting this Effort

Since 2020, Lived Experience Experts, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Casey Family Programs (CFP) and the William T. Grant Foundation have worked in partnership with a broad array of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to draft research gaps that span community-based family support, child protective services, out-of-home care and post-permanency services. Partnering organizations include Black Administrators in Child Welfare, the National Indian Child Welfare Association, Child Trends Hispanic Institute, the American Public Human Services Association, the Child Welfare League of America, the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare and Social Current.


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