Institute for Families in Society
Child Mental Health Research
The Institute’s Child Mental Health Research team works to advance
evidence-based
practices
and policies to enhance the lives of children, youth, and families, particularly among
underserved populations. Strong relationships with a range of child and family serving
agencies and organizations support efforts to educate, understand and improve behavioral
health outcomes for children, youth, and their families.
Cheri Shapiro, PhD, is a Research Associate Professor and
Director of the Institute for Families in
Society
at the University of South Carolina, and the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Child and Family
Studies. A licensed psychologist, she completed her PhD in clinical psychology at the University
of Arizona and has more than two decades of experience in clinical, administrative, and research
settings focusing on evidence-based intervention research and implementation. She has served as
Project Director for the Pittsburgh site of the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with
ADHD, Director of the Psychological Services Center at SUNY Buffalo, Director of Consultation
and Evaluation Services for the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, Project Director
for the U.S. Triple P System Population Trial, Principal Investigator of the Family Networks
Project funded by the national Quality Improvement Center for Early Childhood Research, and Director of
the South Carolina Center of Excellence in Evidence-Based Intervention. Dr. Shapiro's
translational research focus is on implementation of evidence-based psychosocial interventions
in real-world settings. Dr. Shapiro has published more than 35 peer-reviewed articles and book
chapters, and has taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in Psychology and Social
Work. Passions include reading, cycling, running, and yoga, all fueled by a long-standing love
of very strong coffee. And good chocolate.
CURRENT PROJECTS
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The Engaging and Training with Compassion Project, combining training for school mental health professionals in evidence-based mental health interventions within a trauma-responsive framework for elementary school educators
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The South Carolina Center of Excellence in Evidence-Based Intervention, examining workforce uptake and use of evidence-based interventions serving children, youth, and families
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Evaluations of Early Childhood Research workforce and family intervention programs
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Evaluations of community efforts to enhance resilience in young children