Melissa Radey, PhD, MA, MSSW

Associate Professor in the College of Social Work, Florida State University

Her interdisciplinary research seeks to understand poverty and inequality and to consider mechanisms to decrease demographic and socioeconomic disparities in health and wellbeing. Her work examines social support among vulnerable populations, including low-income families as well as stakeholders across the child welfare system. Dr. Radey is Principal Investigator on a NIH-funded project to examine how changes in low-income mothers’ informal support systems over time influence their parenting practices and their children’s development. She also is the co-Principal Investigator for the Florida Study of Professionals for Safe Families, a study of frontline child welfare workers to increase understanding of worker wellbeing and turnover. She uses both multilevel modeling and qualitative research to promote just policies and practices to enhance public and private safety nets.