The Child Welfare Research Center is led by Dr. Catherine LaBrenz and Dr. Hui Huang, with support from Nohemy Gonzalez Rojas, the Community Based Care Collaborative Program Manager. Together, they lead research and community partnerships aimed at improving outcomes for children and families involved with child welfare systems. Their work spans the child welfare workforce, family preservation, reunification, adoption, transition-age youth, and system transformation.
Dr. Catherine LaBrenz is the Director of the Child Welfare Research Center and an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work. She entered academia after seven years working with children and families involved with child protective services in Latin America. As a former child welfare practitioner, her work actively bridges the gap between research and practice. The goal of Dr. LaBrenz’s research is to build family and community resilience to decrease cycles of maltreatment and increase wellbeing. She has authored over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, two books, and has served as Principal Investigator on several federal, state, and foundation-funded projects focused on transforming child welfare.
Dr. Hui Huang is the Research Director of the Child Welfare Research Center and an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at Arlington School of Social Work. Her research expertise is on developing and evaluating macro-level interventions for children and families dually involved in child welfare and other public sectors, such as public higher education institutions, substance use treatment, and juvenile justice. Dr. Huang has used advanced statistical models to analyze secondary data from state administration, local agencies, and public datasets to answer research questions relevant for policy and program decision making.
Nohemy is a program manager for Community Based Care under the Child Welfare Research Center (CWRC) at UTA. Clinically trained and a recent graduate of the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, she first gained experience in research coordination as a graduate assistant by supporting a school-based clinical trial called Journey of Hope, a program that teaches children about emotional literacy and coping mechanisms in disaster prone areas. Since then, her career has focused predominantly on coordinating research centering children, families, and systems of support for these populations, specifically those under the child welfare system. Nohemy is an inherently curious soul and loves to meet new people. In her free time, she likes to hang out with friends, dance, lift weights, craft, and learn about urbanism and walkable cities.
