Henry Parada

Professor Henry Parada is a leading scholar at Toronto Metropolitan University's School of Social Work with extensive international experience across Latin America and the Caribbean. His work bridges academic research and frontline social work practice through the Rights for Children and Youth Partnership (RCYP), a major international initiative addressing child protection disparities.

His educational background includes BSW, MSW, and PhD degrees. His research focuses on systemic inequities in child welfare and education systems, particularly examining how Latin American, Caribbean, Black, and refugee communities experience institutional barriers. Through an anti-oppression lens, he investigates racial disparities in Ontario's child welfare investigations, school belonging challenges, and the impacts of adultification on Black youth aging out of care.

Professor Parada's recent publications reveal a strong emphasis on intersectional approaches to child protection, with significant contributions to understanding cultural brokerage in immigrant families' child welfare experiences and commercial sexual exploitation in the Dominican Republic. His work consistently connects Canadian and Latin American contexts through comparative analyses of institutional responses to vulnerable youth.

He maintains active research funding through multiple SSHRC grants totaling over $2.5 million in the last five years, including a landmark $4.2 million Partnership Grant. His projects involve collaboration with community organizations across seven international regions and have directly informed policy discussions on child welfare reform.

As founder of the Rights for Children and Youth Partnership, Professor Parada leads a transnational research collective that prioritizes knowledge mobilization to frontline agencies. His team integrates community stakeholders throughout the research process to ensure findings directly impact practice and policy for marginalized children and families.