Aron Shlonsky
Associate Professor
Factor-Inwentash Chair in Child Welfare
Director, Bell Canada Child Welfare Research Unit
Ph.D. in Social Welfare, University of California at Berkeley
MPH, Interdisciplinary, University of California at Berkeley
M.S.W., Child and Family, University of California at Los Angeles
BA in Sociology, University of California at Los Angeles
Phone: (416) 978-5718
Aron Shlonsky is associate professor and Factor-Inwentash Chair in Child Welfare at the University of Toronto, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work and is the director of the Bell Canada Child Welfare Research Unit. Prior to his appointment at University of Toronto, spent a number of years as a child protective services worker, sexual abuse therapist, and substance abuse counselor in Los Angeles. His professional interests center largely on child welfare and include risk assessment, kinship foster care, and sibling relationships in out-of-home care. He also has an abiding interest in evidence-based practice and evaluation research. He is co-author of ‘Child Welfare Research: Advances for Child Welfare Practice and Policy’ (2008, Oxford University Press) and has authored and co-authored numerous manuscripts appearing in scholarly journals and books highlighting the use of actuarial tools in child welfare settings, the predictors and effects of sibling separation in foster care, issues surrounding kinship foster care, the implementation of subsidized legal guardianship for relative caregivers, and the teaching and implementation of evidence-based practice.
Current Projects:
-Validation of the New Ontario Decision Support System
-Risk of child maltreatment: A systematic review of the predictive validity of instruments
-Differential Response in Cases of Domestic Violence
-Assessing Children's Risk of Abuse: The Influence of Context and Worker Variables on - Professional Judgment
-Evidence-based management in child welfare services
-Applying Information and Communication Technology to Improve Outcomes for Maltreated Children
-Risk and response: A mixed methods approach to enhance decision-making in child welfare
Select Publications:
Gearing, R.E., Mian, I., Shlonsky, A., et al., (in press). Developing a Risk-Model of Time to First-Relapse for Children and Adolescents Diagnosed with Psychotic Disorders or Mood Disorders with Psychotic Features. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease.
Antilla, S., Ericson, C. & Shlonsky, A. (in press). Effective interventions for women abused in close relations: A research review. Victims and Offenders: A Journal of Evidence-Based Policies and Practices.
Barber, J., Shlonsky, A., Black, T., Goodman, D. & Trocmé, N. (in press). Reliability and predictive validity of a risk assessment tool. Journal of Public Child Welfare.
Shlonsky, A. (in press). Teaching evidence-based practice in social work. In Roberts, A (Ed) Social Worker’s Desk Reference. Oxford University Press.
Shlonsky, A. (in press). A fine balancing act: Kinship care, subsidized guardianship, and outcomes. In Achieving Permanence for Older Children and Youth in Foster Care. Kerman, B., Maluccio, A.N. & Freundlich, M. (Eds.) New York: Columbia University Press.
Lindsey, D. & Shlonsky, A. (Eds.) (2008). Child welfare Research. Oxford University Press.
Friend, C., Shlonsky, A. & Lambert, L. (2008). From Evolving Discourses to New Practice Approaches in Domestic Violence and Child Protective Services. Children and Youth Services Review, 30(6), 689-698.
Shlonsky, A., Saini, M. & Wu, M. (2007). Risk of child maltreatment: A systematic review of the predictive validity of instruments. Protocol for the Campbell Collaboration.
Shlonsky, A. & Friend, C. (2007). Child Maltreatment and Domestic Violence: Current State of Knowledge and Emerging Strategies for Policy and Practice. Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention: An Evidence-Based Practice Journal, 7(4), 249-252.
Shlonsky, A., & Friend, C. (2007). Double Jeopardy: Risk assessment in the context of child maltreatment and domestic violence. Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention: An Evidence-Based Practice Journal, 7(4), 253-274.
Shlonsky, A., Friend, C., Lambert, L. (2007). From Culture Clash to New Possibilities: A Harm Reduction Approach to Family Violence and Child Protection Services. Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention: An Evidence-Based Practice Journal, 7(4), 345-363.
Shlonsky, A. & Stern, S. (2007). Reflections on the teaching of EBP. Research on Social Work Practice, 17, 612-618.
Regehr, C., Stern, S., & Shlonsky, A. (2007). Operationalizing Evidence-Based Practice: The Development of an Institute for Evidence-Based Social Work. Research on Social Work Practice, 17, 408-416.
Shlonsky, A. (2007). Initial construction of an actuarial risk assessment measure using the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW). In Wulczyn, F., Haskins, R. & Webb, M.B. (Eds). Child Protection: Using Research To Improve Policy And Practice. Wash DC: Brookings Institution.
Shlonsky, A., Festinger, T., & Brookhart, M.A. (2006). Is survival the fittest? A Post-hoc Evaluation of Event History Estimations in an Experimental Design. Children and Youth Services Review, 28(7), 841-852.
Shlonsky, A., Bellamy, J., Norman, C., & Elkins, J. (2005). The other kin: Setting the Course for Research, Policy, and Practice with Siblings in Foster Care. Children and Youth Services Review, 27(7), 697-716.
Webster, D., Shlonsky, A., Brookhart, A. (2005). The Ties that Bind II: Reunification for Siblings in Out-of-Home Care Using a Statistical Technique for Examining Non-independent Observations. Children and Youth Services Review, 27(7), 765-782.
Shlonsky, A. & Wagner, D. (2005). The Next Step: Integrating Actuarial Risk Assessment and Clinical Judgment into an Evidence-Based Practice Framework in CPS Case Management. Children and Youth Services Review, 27(3), 409-427.
*Nominated for Pro-Humanitate Award
Mullen, E., Shlonsky, A., Bledsoe, B., Bellamy, J. (2005). From Concept to Implementation: Challenges Facing Evidence-based Social Work. Journal of Evidence and Policy, 1(1), 61-84.
Shlonsky, A. & Gibbs, L. (2004). Will the real evidence-based practice please step forward? Teaching evidence-based practice in the helping professions. Journal of Brief Therapy and Crisis Intervention, 4(2), 137-153.
Shlonsky, A., Needell, B., & Webster, D. (2003). The Ties that Bind: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Siblings in Foster Care. Journal of Social Service Research, 29(3), 27-52.
Shlonsky, A., D’Andrade, A., & Brookhart, A (2002). JSWE Submission Suggestions for Statistical Methods. Journal of Social Work Education, 38(1), 5-13.
Shlonsky, A. & Berrick, J.D. (2001). Assessing and Promoting Quality in Kin and Non-Kin Foster Homes. Social Service Review, 75(1), 60-83.
Shlonsky, A. & Gambrill, E. (2001). The Assessment and Management of Risk in Child Welfare Services: Overview of Contents - Part II. Children and Youth Services Review, 23 (1), 1-2.
Gambrill, E & Shlonsky, A. (2001). The Need for Comprehensive Risk Management Programs in Child Protective Services. Children and Youth Services Review, 23 (1), 79-107.
Gambrill, E., & Shlonsky, A. (2000). Risk Assessment in Context. Children and Youth Services Review, 22 (11-12), 813-837.