Jody Brook

Professor Jody Brook is an Associate Dean for Research and Professor at the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare. She holds a PhD from the University of Kansas (2005) and an MSW from Tulane University. Her expertise spans child welfare systems, substance abuse interventions, and trauma-informed practices. She has led 17 externally funded research projects, focusing on service delivery in child welfare, substance abuse, and specialty courts. Over 44 peer-reviewed articles and 23 research reports highlight her contributions to evidence-based interventions like the Strengthening Families Program and Family Treatment Courts. Her work emphasizes policy implementation, organizational change, and improving permanency outcomes for children. Current roles include teaching in the DSW research sequence and evaluating initiatives like the Kansas Serves Substance Affected Families program.

Education: PhD, University of Kansas (2005); MSW, Tulane University (clinical license since 1991).

Research Interests: Substance abuse across the lifespan, child welfare systems, trauma-responsive practices, family drug courts, and mixed-methods evaluations. Her work bridges clinical practice and policy, particularly addressing substance-affected families and system-level interventions.

• Major Grants: Oklahoma Partnership Initiative, Kansas Regional Partnership Grants, and Iowa Court Collaborative.
• Key Contributions: Over 60 national presentations, including invited talks on trauma-informed care and substance abuse policy.

Labs/Teams: Central to the School's research infrastructure, she collaborates with interdisciplinary teams on initiatives like the Kansas Assessment Permanency Project and the Iowa Regional Partnership Grant.