Susana Mariscal

Susana Mariscal is a community-engaged scholar with an active research agenda centered on the prevention of child maltreatment and promotion of resilience among children and families, particularly those who identify as Latinx. She has led several federally funded projects that evaluate evidence-based services in community settings, and her work continues to explore the intersections between child maltreatment, domestic violence, and substance use.

Her current project, Strengthening Indiana Families, in collaboration with Bryan Victor, focuses on the implementation and evaluation of a continuum of community-based services and supports designed to improve the safety and well-being of families in east-central Indiana. Intended to prevent formal entry of children into foster care, Strengthening Indiana Families is being carried out in collaboration with a number of community partners including the Indiana Department of Child Services, the Indiana State Department of Health, Children’s Bureau Inc., Prevent Child Abuse Indiana, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, and local municipalities and agencies.

Families and youth with experience in the foster care system will also be integral to Strengthening Indiana Families’ design and implementation. The project is funded by a five-year, $2.74 million award from the Children’s Bureau in the U.S. Administration for Children and Families.

Areas of Expertise

Resilience among children exposed to interpersonal trauma; child maltreatment prevention; childhood exposure to intimate partner violence and parental substance use; youth aging out of foster care; strengths-based practice; social work practice with Latinx community; intervention research; implementation science; research methods (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods).