Johanna K P Greeson
Biographic Data
| ID | 4443306 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Johanna K P Greeson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Johanna K P |
| FAMILY NAME | Greeson |
| SIGNATURE | GREESON J K P |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Pennsylvania |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5859-9517 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 43 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 187 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 43 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 9 |
Left Behind in Lockdown: A Scoping Review of Covid‐19's Impact on the Lives of Transition‐Age Foster Youth
This scoping review asked: What is known about the scope and nature of research on the COVID‐19 pandemic and its effects on older youth with foster care experience in the United States, including the types of studies, samples and outcomes examined? Guided by the Joanna Briggs Institute framework and PRISMA‐ScR, we searched 11 databases and grey literature sources (October 2024 to January 2025). Eligible studies were United States based, published…
Is Child Welfare Oppressive
Research on the Lived Experiences of Adolescents and Adults With Foster Care History: A Scoping Review
Objective: Many child welfare scholars, practitioners, and funders are calling for greater inclusion of “lived experience” data and stakeholder voices in foster care research. Yet to date there have been no comprehensive summaries of studies that analyze data collected directly from older youth and adults with lived experience in out-of-home care. To address this knowledge gap, this scoping review maps the extent, nature, and sample characteristi…
The program encourages people not to have a heavy heart”: A qualitative study of a family strengthening program in Kenya
There are millions of street-connected children worldwide, with thousands estimated in Kenya. Many child-serving organizations - including Agape Children’s Ministry (Agape) in western Kenya - provide rehabilitation and family reintegration services to remove children from the streets and reunite them with their families. This study aims to elucidate barriers and facilitators of Agape’s Family Strengthening Program (FSP) and elicit feedback. Twelv…
The stark implications of abolishing child welfare: An alternative path towards support and safety
Scholars and advocates are at odds about how to achieve higher levels of child safety and permanency. Calls for change include the recent upEND focus on eradication of child welfare services to a radical refocusing of the present system towards prevention/early intervention. To clarify the implications of reform over abolition, we seek to portray a future in which the abolition of child welfare has occurred, in juxtaposition to maintaining four c…
Reintegration of street‐connected children in Kenya: Evaluation of Agape Children's Ministry's Family Strengthening Programme
In Kenya, the number of street‐involved children continues to grow each decade, with most recent estimates as high as 250 000 to 300 000. Despite efforts by local government, nongovernmental organizations, and community‐based organizations to address this problem, most children who receive services end up returning to the streets. Since 2021, Agape Children's Ministry has provided time‐limited, crisis‐oriented services to families recently reinte…
A Template for Implementing Interprofessional Education in Child Advocacy
While there is an urgency to offer graduate students’ inter-professional education (IPE) in child advocacy, there are no templates for educators to utilize. Participants (n=34), inclusive of students, community stakeholders, and faculty from a northeastern university, participated in focus groups to describe what IPE should entail. Grounded theory was used to distill the data, which revealed themes about what participants would value from an IPE …
Economic conditions and the number of children in foster care
Campus liaisons for students who have experienced foster care: Lessons learned from Texas legislation
Independent living programs and services for youth 'aging out' of care in Canada and the U.S: A systematic review
Just being there, like a shoulder to lean on”: Resilience and Mental Health among Older Youth in and Aged out of Foster Care during Covid-19
Research to Consider while Effectively Re-Designing Child Welfare Services: A Response to Commentaries
Barth et al. (2021) published an article in this journal identifying ten topics in the field of child welfare that are frequently discussed among professionals, advocates, and researchers in an effort to shape discussions of practice and policy reform. Concerned that these discussions are often poorly informed by the research evidence, Barth et al. intended to offer a corrective to these common, erroneous narratives. The Editor-in-Chief, Bruce Th…
The experiences of older youth in and aged out of foster care during the Covid-19 pandemic: Material and financial well-being by foster care status, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and…
As a marginalized, underresourced population, older youth with foster care experience are acutely vulnerable to the economic and social harms wrought by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study summarizes findings from an online survey deployed in April 2020 to learn about the experiences of current and former foster youth (ages 18-23) during 1 month of the COVID-19 crisis. Using snowball sampling and a cross-sectional design, the survey y…
Research to Consider While Effectively Re-Designing Child Welfare Services
An intense appetite for reforming and transforming child welfare services in the United States is yielding many new initiatives. Vulnerable children and families who become involved with child welfare clearly deserve higher quality and more effective services. New policies, programs, and practices should be built on sound evidence. Reforms based on misunderstandings about what the current data show may ultimately harm families. This review highli…
One hundred and ninety-four got licensed by Monday”: Application of design thinking for foster care innovation and transformation in Rhode Island
Outcomes following child welfare services: What are they and do they differ for black children
Current calls to end structural racism in the US include proposals to abolish or radically transform child welfare services (CWS). While substantial research finds numerous poor outcomes following maltreatment, the efficacy and acceptability of CWS, particularly for children of color, has long sparked debate. This review summarizes the state of quantitative research across seven domains for children overall and by race with varying degrees of CWS…
Interventions for youth aging out of foster care: A state of the science review
Youth Matters: Philly (YMP): Development, usability, usefulness, & accessibility of a mobile web-based app for homeless and unstably housed youth
Prevalence and Correlates of Sex Trafficking among Homeless and Runaway Youths Presenting for Shelter Services
Journal Article Prevalence and Correlates of Sex Trafficking among Homeless and Runaway Youths Presenting for Shelter Services Get access Johanna K P Greeson, Johanna K P Greeson Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Daniel Treglia, Daniel Treglia Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Debra Schilling Wolfe, Debra Schilling Wolfe Search for other works by this author on: Oxford …
The contribution of mentoring to the life skills of youth leaving care in Israel
The goal of this study was to examine the contribution of natural mentoring to the improvement of life skills among youth in care in core areas of education, employment, and avoidance of risk behaviours while controlling for personal characteristics and placement history. The sample includes 174 adolescents in residential care in Israel. Results showed that mentoring duration and mentoring functions including mentor as “role model,” “parental fig…
Tweeting Social Justice: How Social Work Faculty Use Twitter
Social media are considered useful tools for academic purposes. Our exploratory study offers insight into the use of Twitter by social work faculty in the USA. Employing an online survey, this study investigates Twitter usage among a sample of social work faculty (n = 274) from the top-fifty-ranked MSW programmes in the USA. Slightly more than half of the participants had Twitter accounts, the majority of whom use Twitter as part of their academi…
Prosocial Activities and Natural Mentoring Among Youth at Risk of Aging Out of Foster Care
Objective: Research suggests that the presence of natural mentors may ameliorate the risk associated with emancipating from foster care, though only half of foster youth have natural mentors. This study investigated the extent to which involvement in prosocial activities is associated with natural mentoring among youth at risk of emancipation. Method: Using data from the Multi-Site Evaluation of Foster Youth Programs, we applied multinomial logis…
Development, Feasibility, and Piloting of a Novel Natural Mentoring Intervention for Older Youth in Foster Care
Aging out of foster care is associated with deleterious emerging adulthood outcomes. The enduring presence of a caring adult, such as a natural mentor, can improve outcomes for emancipating foster youth. Caring Adults ‘R’ Everywhere (C.A.R.E.) is a novel, child welfare-based intervention designed to facilitate natural mentor relationships among aging-out youth. Our aims were to test the feasibility of implementing C.A.R.E. and the feasibility of …
Natural mentoring among older youth in and aging out of foster care: A systematic review
A First Look at Natural Mentoring Among Preadolescent Foster Children
This study describes natural mentoring among preadolescent children placed in out‐of‐home care and examines the association between natural mentoring and demographic, maltreatment, placement, and psychosocial characteristics. Cross‐sectional data from a sample of 263 children and their out‐of‐home caregivers were analyzed. Caregivers rated children's social skills, and children reported on their perceived opportunities and attachment to peers and…
One adult who is crazy about you: Can natural mentoring relationships increase assets among young adults with and without foster care experience
She holds my hand” The experiences of foster youth with their natural mentors
Research to Consider While Effectively Re-Designing Child Welfare Services
An intense appetite for reforming and transforming child welfare services in the United States is yielding many new initiatives. Vulnerable children and families who become involved with child welfare clearly deserve higher quality and more effective services. New policies, programs, and practices should be built on sound evidence. Reforms based on misunderstandings about what the current data show may ultimately harm families. This review highli…
It's good to know that you got somebody that's not going anywhere: Attitudes and beliefs of older youth in foster care about child welfare-based natural mentoring
Outcomes following child welfare services: What are they and do they differ for black children
Current calls to end structural racism in the US include proposals to abolish or radically transform child welfare services (CWS). While substantial research finds numerous poor outcomes following maltreatment, the efficacy and acceptability of CWS, particularly for children of color, has long sparked debate. This review summarizes the state of quantitative research across seven domains for children overall and by race with varying degrees of CWS…
Interventions for youth aging out of foster care: A state of the science review
Development & maintenance of social support among aged out foster youth who received independent living services: Results from the Multi-Site Evaluation of Foster Youth Programs
Foster Youth and Social Support: The First RCT of Independent Living Services
Objective: Conduct secondary data analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of Massachusetts’ Adolescent Outreach Program for Youths in Intensive Foster Care (Outreach) for increasing social support (SS) among enrolled youth. Participants: 194 youth in intensive foster care under the guardianship of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families with a goal of independent living (IL) or long-term substitute care, and born between August 1985 …
Prevalence and Correlates of Sex Trafficking among Homeless and Runaway Youths Presenting for Shelter Services
Journal Article Prevalence and Correlates of Sex Trafficking among Homeless and Runaway Youths Presenting for Shelter Services Get access Johanna K P Greeson, Johanna K P Greeson Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Daniel Treglia, Daniel Treglia Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Debra Schilling Wolfe, Debra Schilling Wolfe Search for other works by this author on: Oxford …
Development, Feasibility, and Piloting of a Novel Natural Mentoring Intervention for Older Youth in Foster Care
Aging out of foster care is associated with deleterious emerging adulthood outcomes. The enduring presence of a caring adult, such as a natural mentor, can improve outcomes for emancipating foster youth. Caring Adults ‘R’ Everywhere (C.A.R.E.) is a novel, child welfare-based intervention designed to facilitate natural mentor relationships among aging-out youth. Our aims were to test the feasibility of implementing C.A.R.E. and the feasibility of …
Social Capital and Homeownership in Low- to Moderate-Income Neighborhoods
This study examined the relationship between homeownership and social capital among low- and moderate-income (LMI) households. Using data from the Community Advantage Panel Study, the authors used propensity score weighting and regression analyses to explore the relationship between LMI homeownership, neighborhood conditions, and social capital. After controlling for several important individual- and neighborhood-level characteristics, the author…
Changes in family functioning and child behavior following intensive in-home therapy
A First Look at Natural Mentoring Among Preadolescent Foster Children
This study describes natural mentoring among preadolescent children placed in out‐of‐home care and examines the association between natural mentoring and demographic, maltreatment, placement, and psychosocial characteristics. Cross‐sectional data from a sample of 263 children and their out‐of‐home caregivers were analyzed. Caregivers rated children's social skills, and children reported on their perceived opportunities and attachment to peers and…
Is Child Welfare Oppressive
Prosocial Activities and Natural Mentoring Among Youth at Risk of Aging Out of Foster Care
Objective: Research suggests that the presence of natural mentors may ameliorate the risk associated with emancipating from foster care, though only half of foster youth have natural mentors. This study investigated the extent to which involvement in prosocial activities is associated with natural mentoring among youth at risk of emancipation. Method: Using data from the Multi-Site Evaluation of Foster Youth Programs, we applied multinomial logis…
Child Welfare Professionals’ Attitudes and Beliefs About Child Welfare-Based Natural Mentoring for Older Youth in Foster Care
This qualitative study is the first to explore child welfare professionals’ attitudes and beliefs about implementing natural mentoring as a promising way to smooth the road to independence for older foster youth. The term “natural mentor” refers to a nonparental, caring adult whom a youth identifies in his/her existing social network (e.g., teachers, coaches, adult relatives). Five focus groups were conducted with 20 child welfare professionals f…
Contributions of Therapist Characteristics and Stability to Intensive In-home Therapy Youth Outcomes
Findings underscore the need for additional study concerning the impact of therapist characteristics and stability on youth outcomes, and to improve the understanding of the relationship between the two. Future studies in these areas would advance social work practice in family-based treatment programs
The stark implications of abolishing child welfare: An alternative path towards support and safety
Scholars and advocates are at odds about how to achieve higher levels of child safety and permanency. Calls for change include the recent upEND focus on eradication of child welfare services to a radical refocusing of the present system towards prevention/early intervention. To clarify the implications of reform over abolition, we seek to portray a future in which the abolition of child welfare has occurred, in juxtaposition to maintaining four c…
Reintegration of street‐connected children in Kenya: Evaluation of Agape Children's Ministry's Family Strengthening Programme
In Kenya, the number of street‐involved children continues to grow each decade, with most recent estimates as high as 250 000 to 300 000. Despite efforts by local government, nongovernmental organizations, and community‐based organizations to address this problem, most children who receive services end up returning to the streets. Since 2021, Agape Children's Ministry has provided time‐limited, crisis‐oriented services to families recently reinte…
Research to Consider while Effectively Re-Designing Child Welfare Services: A Response to Commentaries
Barth et al. (2021) published an article in this journal identifying ten topics in the field of child welfare that are frequently discussed among professionals, advocates, and researchers in an effort to shape discussions of practice and policy reform. Concerned that these discussions are often poorly informed by the research evidence, Barth et al. intended to offer a corrective to these common, erroneous narratives. The Editor-in-Chief, Bruce Th…
The contribution of mentoring to the life skills of youth leaving care in Israel
The goal of this study was to examine the contribution of natural mentoring to the improvement of life skills among youth in care in core areas of education, employment, and avoidance of risk behaviours while controlling for personal characteristics and placement history. The sample includes 174 adolescents in residential care in Israel. Results showed that mentoring duration and mentoring functions including mentor as “role model,” “parental fig…
Homeownership and parenting practices: Evidence from the community advantage panel
The impact of low- and moderate-wealth homeownership on parental attitudes and behavior: Evidence from the community advantage panel
Changes in family functioning and child behavior following intensive in-home therapy
Outcomes for youth receiving intensive in-home therapy or residential care: A comparison using propensity scores
This study compares outcomes for behaviorally troubled children receiving intensive in-home therapy (IIHT) and those receiving residential care (RC). Propensity score matching is used to identify matched pairs of youth (n = 786) with equivalent propensity for IIHT. The majority of pretreatment differences between the IIHT and RC groups are eliminated following matching. Logistic regression is then conducted on outcome differences at 1 year postdi…
Contributions of Therapist Characteristics and Stability to Intensive In-home Therapy Youth Outcomes
Findings underscore the need for additional study concerning the impact of therapist characteristics and stability on youth outcomes, and to improve the understanding of the relationship between the two. Future studies in these areas would advance social work practice in family-based treatment programs
She holds my hand” The experiences of foster youth with their natural mentors
Evidence-Based Practice for Youth in Supervised Out-of-Home Care: A Framework for Development, Definition, and Evaluation
Adolescents comprise a substantial portion of the children in child welfare supervised out-of-home care. This article considers the evidence base for an array of services to adolescents in out-of-home care and evaluates the existing research base for each program. This review advances a framework for considering the critical need to develop, define, and evaluate the essential elements of out-of-home care services for older foster youth. Policy, p…
The impact of low- and moderate-wealth homeownership on parental attitudes and behavior: Evidence from the community advantage panel
One adult who is crazy about you: Can natural mentoring relationships increase assets among young adults with and without foster care experience
Homeownership and parenting practices: Evidence from the community advantage panel
Evidence-Based Practice for Youth in Supervised Out-of-Home Care: A Framework for Development, Definition, and Evaluation
Adolescents comprise more than half of the children in child welfare supervised out-of-home care. This article considers the evidence-base for an array of services to adolescents in out-of-home care and evaluates the existing research base for each program. This review advances a framework for considering the critical need to develop, define, and evaluate the essential elements of out-of-home care services for older foster youth. Policy, program,…
Links between child and adolescent trauma exposure and service use histories in a national clinic-referred sample
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) is a federally funded child mental health service initiative designed to raise the standard of care and increase access to evidence-based services for traumatized children and their families across the United States. As part of the quality improvement goal, a Core Data Set (CDS) was established to standardize data collection and examine treatment outcomes across participating centers. This paper…
Trauma Exposure, Psychosocial Functioning, and Treatment Needs of Youth in Residential Care: Preliminary Findings from the NCTSN Core Data Set
Foster Youth and the Transition to Adulthood: The Theoretical and Conceptual Basis for Natural Mentoring
The transition from adolescence to adulthood is considered a significant developmental stage in a young person’s growth. Most youth receive family support to help them weather the difficulties associated with this stage. When foster youth age out of the child welfare system, they confront the challenges associated with this developmental stage and are at risk of having to transition without family support. This article applies the life course per…
Social Capital and Homeownership in Low- to Moderate-Income Neighborhoods
This study examined the relationship between homeownership and social capital among low- and moderate-income (LMI) households. Using data from the Community Advantage Panel Study, the authors used propensity score weighting and regression analyses to explore the relationship between LMI homeownership, neighborhood conditions, and social capital. After controlling for several important individual- and neighborhood-level characteristics, the author…
Cumulative trauma exposure and high risk behavior in adolescence: Findings from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Core Data Set
Although links between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and problems in adulthood are wellestablished, less is known regarding links between exposure to trauma during childhood and adolescence and high-risk behavior in adolescence.We tested the hypothesis that cumulative exposure to up to 20 different types of trauma and bereavement/loss incrementally predicts high-risk adolescent behavior beyond demographic variables.Adolescents reporting ex…
Foster Youth and Social Support: The First RCT of Independent Living Services
Objective: Conduct secondary data analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of Massachusetts’ Adolescent Outreach Program for Youths in Intensive Foster Care (Outreach) for increasing social support (SS) among enrolled youth. Participants: 194 youth in intensive foster care under the guardianship of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families with a goal of independent living (IL) or long-term substitute care, and born between August 1985 …
It's good to know that you got somebody that's not going anywhere: Attitudes and beliefs of older youth in foster care about child welfare-based natural mentoring
Development & maintenance of social support among aged out foster youth who received independent living services: Results from the Multi-Site Evaluation of Foster Youth Programs
Child Welfare Professionals’ Attitudes and Beliefs About Child Welfare-Based Natural Mentoring for Older Youth in Foster Care
This qualitative study is the first to explore child welfare professionals’ attitudes and beliefs about implementing natural mentoring as a promising way to smooth the road to independence for older foster youth. The term “natural mentor” refers to a nonparental, caring adult whom a youth identifies in his/her existing social network (e.g., teachers, coaches, adult relatives). Five focus groups were conducted with 20 child welfare professionals f…
Natural mentoring among older youth in and aging out of foster care: A systematic review
A First Look at Natural Mentoring Among Preadolescent Foster Children
This study describes natural mentoring among preadolescent children placed in out‐of‐home care and examines the association between natural mentoring and demographic, maltreatment, placement, and psychosocial characteristics. Cross‐sectional data from a sample of 263 children and their out‐of‐home caregivers were analyzed. Caregivers rated children's social skills, and children reported on their perceived opportunities and attachment to peers and…
Prosocial Activities and Natural Mentoring Among Youth at Risk of Aging Out of Foster Care
Objective: Research suggests that the presence of natural mentors may ameliorate the risk associated with emancipating from foster care, though only half of foster youth have natural mentors. This study investigated the extent to which involvement in prosocial activities is associated with natural mentoring among youth at risk of emancipation. Method: Using data from the Multi-Site Evaluation of Foster Youth Programs, we applied multinomial logis…
Development, Feasibility, and Piloting of a Novel Natural Mentoring Intervention for Older Youth in Foster Care
Aging out of foster care is associated with deleterious emerging adulthood outcomes. The enduring presence of a caring adult, such as a natural mentor, can improve outcomes for emancipating foster youth. Caring Adults ‘R’ Everywhere (C.A.R.E.) is a novel, child welfare-based intervention designed to facilitate natural mentor relationships among aging-out youth. Our aims were to test the feasibility of implementing C.A.R.E. and the feasibility of …
Tweeting Social Justice: How Social Work Faculty Use Twitter
Social media are considered useful tools for academic purposes. Our exploratory study offers insight into the use of Twitter by social work faculty in the USA. Employing an online survey, this study investigates Twitter usage among a sample of social work faculty (n = 274) from the top-fifty-ranked MSW programmes in the USA. Slightly more than half of the participants had Twitter accounts, the majority of whom use Twitter as part of their academi…
Prevalence and Correlates of Sex Trafficking among Homeless and Runaway Youths Presenting for Shelter Services
Journal Article Prevalence and Correlates of Sex Trafficking among Homeless and Runaway Youths Presenting for Shelter Services Get access Johanna K P Greeson, Johanna K P Greeson Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Daniel Treglia, Daniel Treglia Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Debra Schilling Wolfe, Debra Schilling Wolfe Search for other works by this author on: Oxford …
The contribution of mentoring to the life skills of youth leaving care in Israel
The goal of this study was to examine the contribution of natural mentoring to the improvement of life skills among youth in care in core areas of education, employment, and avoidance of risk behaviours while controlling for personal characteristics and placement history. The sample includes 174 adolescents in residential care in Israel. Results showed that mentoring duration and mentoring functions including mentor as “role model,” “parental fig…
Psychology (36 works) · Medicine (34 works) · Child Welfare and Adoption (28 works) · Nursing (21 works) · Political science (20 works) · Homelessness and Social Issues (18 works) · Foster care (17 works) · Developmental psychology (15 works) · Child Abuse and Trauma (14 works) · Sociology (14 works)