Johnson-Motoyama, Michelle, PhD

Bio

Michelle Johnson-Motoyama, Ph.D., MSW is Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at The Ohio State University (OSU) College of Social Work. Her scholarship examines the role of social policies and programs in supporting children and families and reducing racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in child and family health well-being. Her current work examines the effects of state economic and social safety net policy changes on child maltreatment rates over time, highlighting the critical role of economic factors in child abuse and neglect prevention. She also serves as Principal Investigator for the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund’s implementations of Community Collaborations to Strengthen and Preserve Families and Family Support through Primary Prevention, federal demonstrations funded by the Children’s Bureau.

Professor Johnson-Motoyama’s research has been supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and other sponsors. At OSU she teaches graduate courses on prevention strategies, policy research methods, and intervention research methods. She has also taught at UCLA and The University of Kansas. She currently serves as Chair of the Society for Social Work and Research’s Child Welfare Special Interest Group and is a member of the leadership network supporting the Grand Challenge for Social Work “Build Healthy Relationships to End Violence.” Professor Johnson-Motoyama holds Bachelor and Master degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley School of Social Welfare.

Education

PhD - University of California, Berkeley - Social Welfare
MSW - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Social Work
BS - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Media

Areas of Expertise

Child maltreatment prevention
Social disparities in child welfare
Immigration and child welfare
Policy research
Quantitative methods
Community-based participatory research

Areas of Interest for Mentoring PhD Students

Child maltreatment prevention
Social disparities in child welfare
Immigration and child welfare
Research design
Policy research
Quantitative methods
Mixed methods
Community-based participatory research