Dr. Wesley Church, Director of the School of Social Work, Selected as Mentor for Rutgers Summer Research Institute

05/11/17

Dr. Wesley T. Church, Director of the School of Social Work (SSW) in the College of Human Science & Education, was selected as a mentor for the Rutgers University Summer Research Institute for the Racial Democracy, Crime and Justice Network.

As a mentor, Dr. Church will work one-on-one with SRI fellow Jacquelyn “Jackie” Duron, an assistant professor of social work at Rutgers. During the institute, Dr. Church and Duron will work on a grant proposal titled “Assessing the Community Re-integration Needs of Juveniles Who Sexually Offend.”

In the proposal, Duron seeks to investigate youth and family experiences of returning home following adjudication for a sexual offense by conducting a mixed methods study to validate a novel instrument, Juveniles Who Sexually Offend Well-being Survey, which assesses the needs of youth based on challenges in critical domains.

Dr. Church will assist Duron with the development of her proposal, along with career development.

Along with his position as director of the SSW, Dr. Church is also the J. Franklin Bayhi Endowed Professor. His research interests include juvenile justice, adolescent development and behavior, factors of delinquency including poverty, children and youth services, and the behaviors, predictors and factors related to sexual offense and risky sexual behavior.

Dr. Church has published a vast selection of papers and articles on these and other topics in prestigious publications such as the Journal of Child and Family Studies, the Journal of Juvenile Justice, and the Journal of Forensic Social Work. He has also made numerous presentations at various national and international conferences, and has served in a number of community positions, including as a member of the Louisiana Governor’s Task Force on Permanency for Foster Children.

Dr. Church received his bachelor of history, master of social work, and doctorate of social work from the University of Utah.

About SSW
The LSU School of Social Work (SSW) aspires to be a leading graduate school of social work, a vibrant center of intellectual development, a leader in promoting and supporting diverse communities, and an advocate for an integrated and inclusive model of social work, all within a learning environment that supports best educational practices. The SSW offers a Child and Family Studies (CFS) undergraduate degree, MSW, online MSW, and PhD. SSW is part of the College of Human Sciences & Education. 

Visit the School of Social Work at lsu.edu/chse/socialwork

About CHSE

The College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE) is a nationally accredited division of Louisiana State University. The college is comprised of the School of Education, the School of Leadership & Human Resource Development, the School of Kinesiology, the School of Information Studies, the School of Social Work, and the University Laboratory School. These combined schools offer 8 undergraduate degree programs, 18 graduate programs, and 7 online graduate degree programs, enrolling more than 2,020 undergraduate and 879 graduate students. The College is committed to achieving the highest standards in teaching, research, and service and is committed to improving quality of life across the lifespan.

Visit the College of Human Sciences & Education at lsu.edu/chse