Monica Lopez Lopez

Professor Monica Lopez Lopez is a distinguished faculty member at the University of Groningen's Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, specializing in Developmental and Behavioural Disorders in Education and Care. With over 167 research outputs and 103 academic activities documented, she is an active contributor to the field of child protection and welfare.

Her research interests focus on critical areas including child protection systems, foster care practices, decision-making processes in child welfare, and LGBTQIA+ youth issues within residential care settings. Professor Lopez Lopez has established herself as a leading expert in understanding how stereotypes impact disparities in child protection decision-making.

Her scholarly work demonstrates consistent focus on improving child welfare systems through evidence-based approaches, with recent publications examining microaggressions among LGBTQIA+ youth, balancing equality and equity in child welfare services, and pathways to permanency for children in foster care.

• ALLINTERACT. Widening and diversifying citizen engagement in science (2020)
• New directions in child protection policy, practice and research in Indonesia and the Netherlands (2020)
• PNN Supervisor of the Year in the Netherlands (2020)
• Sustainable Society Small Grant (2020)
• Brighter Future: Innovative tools for developing full potential after early adversity (2019)

Professor Lopez Lopez actively supervises PhD students at the University of Groningen and has received multiple competitive fellowships supporting her research on child protection systems. Her work contributes significantly to UN Sustainable Development Goals related to reducing inequalities and promoting well-being for all children. She is a member of The Rudolf Agricola School for Sustainable Development and regularly presents her research at international conferences on child welfare topics.