My research aims to promote child well-being by preventing child maltreatment and improving the availability and quality of children’s mental health services. Areas of focus include 1) Caregiver risk for perpetration of child abuse and neglect; 2) Provision of mental health care in non-traditional settings (e.g., pediatric primary care, Child Advocacy Centers); 3) Workforce expansion and support for front-line providers; and 4) Implementation of evidence-based practices in rural areas.
Grant Funding
- Improving access to mental health services for rural youth: Leveraging multidisciplinary teams to enhance implementation of a screening and referral protocol in rural Child Advocacy Centers
- Career development award (K23) from the National Institute of Mental Health
- Adapting and Piloting an Evidence-Based Team Training Intervention for Child Advocacy Center Multidisciplinary Teams
- University of Pittsburgh Center for Interventions to Enhance Community Health (CiTECH)
- Dissertation Awards
- Dissertation Research Funding Award, Society for Research in Child Development
- Belfer-Aptman Dissertation Research Award, Melissa Institute for Violence Prevention and Treatment
- RGSO Dissertation Award, Penn State College of the Liberal Arts
- Dissertation Award, Penn State Child Study Center
Fellowships
- 2020-2021, Fellowship in Child & Adolescent Mental Health Research (5T32MH018951-30)
- 2018-2020, Clinical and Translational Science Fellowship (NCATS TL1 TR001858)
- 2015-2017, Doris Duke Fellowship for the Promotion of Child Well-Being
- 2011-2012, Penn State University Graduate Fellowship
Other Awards and Honors
- NIMH Child Intervention, Prevention, and Services (CHIPS) Fellowship (2019)
- Strumpf Scholar Award, Penn State Child Study Center (2013-2014)
- Outstanding Paper Award, Literati Network Awards for Excellence (Aarons, Miller, Green, Perrott, & Bradway, 2012)
- Strumpf Enhancement Award, Penn State Child Study Center (2012)
