Institute for Families in Society

Caitlyn R. Owens, Ph.D.

Dr. Caitlyn Owens is an Assistant Professor at James Madison University. She received her doctoral training in School Psychology from North Carolina State University. During her tenure, she completed an NICHD T32 predoctoral fellowship at the Carolina Consortium on Human Development, where she trained in an inter-institutional and multi-disciplinary community dedicated to understanding the complex development of people in context, ranging from families to culture.

Dr. Owen’s research focuses on exploring the causes and consequences of family distress on child development. She has spent much of career working with families experiencing homelessness as well as families involved with the child welfare system. Her research is very applied in nature and often involves partnering with community agencies. Dr. Owens uses her work and expertise to help bridge gaps between research, clinical work, and policies. Dr. Owens is a member of the Child Well-Being Research Network.

Melissa Swartz, PhD

(PhD, Counselor Education & Supervision, University of South Carolina and MS Clinical Psychology, Francis Marion University)
Melissa Swartz, PhD, is the co-founder and Executive Director of Firm Foundations Counseling & Wellness, a private mental health practice that specializes in treating children, adolescents, and their families. As executive director, Dr. Swartz’s role involves quality assurance for clinical services, staff training and supervision, as well as research and development. Dr. Swartz received her Bachelor’s in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina, a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from Francis Marion, and a Doctorate in Counselor Education and Supervision (PhD) from the University of South Carolina. She is licensed by the State of South Carolina as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Supervisor (LPC/S).

Dr. Swartz’s clinical specialty areas include child and adolescent behavioral and emotional disorders, spiritual integration, family issues, as well as trauma. Dr. Swartz holds national certifications in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Triple P Positive Parenting Program, Managing and Adapting Practice (MAP), as well as Trauma Focused CBT.

Dr. Swartz is a published author on the topics of counselor advocacy and parental alliance. Her current research projects focus on the use of Feedback Informed Treatment (FIT) with children, youth, and their families as well as the impact empirically based intervention training has on mental health provider self-efficacy.

Sarah J. Ball, Pharm.D

(Medical University of South Carolina)
Sarah Ball, PharmD is a Research Assistant Professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), with a focus on patient-centered care, patient safety, and educational outreach. She has had direct involvement with academic detailing for over twelve years, beginning with the development and implementation of the SCORxE Academic Service under the SC College of Pharmacy in 2007.

Current efforts include the integration of research and programmatic opportunities to identify interventions that change prescriber behavior to reduce the risk of opioid overuse, misuse, abuse, and overdose. Dr. Ball is currently leading the MUSC team partnering with the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services for the provision of drug utilization review (DUR) services, which includes educational outreach to primary care providers and surgeons.

Dr. Ball has twenty plus years with a career focus on improving patient care through the application of technology and effective communication of clinical knowledge, information, and data-derived findings.

Tasha M. Childs, PhD, MSW, LMSW

(PhD, University of South Carolina)
Tasha M. Childs, PhD, MSW, LMSW is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at the University of Missouri and a licensed social worker (OH, SC, AK-pending) formally trained as a school social worker with practice experience as a crisis counselor and group facilitator. She completed her doctoral education at the University of South Carolina College of Social Work

Her research focuses on eliminating racial inequities in schools by examining contributions of teacher racial bias, leveraging school social workers in schools and youth-serving organizations, and creating equitable access to mental health services and supports. She has collaborated with schools across the past six years across the U.S. to improve students’ access to mental health services and implement expanded school improvement models. She is also trained in motivational interviewing and has supported the development of two school-based interventions targeting youth at-risk of high school dropout and building school readiness to implement social and emotional learning. She also serves the profession as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Child and Family Studies.

Together, she uses her experience in these roles working closely with faculty and staff to prepare and teach social work students and engage practicing social workers in ongoing continuing education and advocacy for social work practice with children and families.