About the Centre and our Founder

Dr. Susan J. Wells. Please click the photo for a video on the origins of the Centre.

The Centre was established in 2011 by Dr. Susan J. Wells, UBCO professor emerita, with support from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation five-year infrastructure grant. The Centre was developed to advance research on child welfare services and focuses on evidence-based practices, organizational factors related to service quality, as well as racial biases and disparities. Our research supplements services in applying innovative strategies within their practice for children and families. Funding for Centre projects has come from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), provincial sources, and other foundation funding.

Dr. Susan J. Wells, the founding director of the Centre, has a over 30 years of experience conducting research with federal programs, province-wide child mental health and social service agencies, and community service providers, with an emphasis on the interface between research, practice, and policy. Dr. Wells has supported this work with over $12 million in grant and contract research funding, leading to numerous publications and knowledge translation efforts that have had a direct impact nationally and internationally on laws, policy, and practice in child health and social service delivery. Dr. Wells is currently UBCO Professor Emerita following a joint appointment in the Department of Psychology and in the School of Social Work.

Dr. Sarah Dow-Fleisner joined the CSSCF in June 2019 under the mentorship of Dr. Wells, and started as the Director in June 2021 following Dr. Wells’ retirement. In May 2022, Dr. Barbara Lee (UBC-Vancouver) and Dr. Sarah Dow-Fleisner began working together, and Dr. Lee joined the CSSCF as a Director working on the Vancouver campus. In August 2021, Drs. Lee and Dow-Fleisner were awarded a UBC Collaborative Mobility Award with the goal of developing the CSSCF as a virtual and physical hub for research, student training, and knowledge dissemination. Drs. Dow-Fleisner and Lee continue to partner as co-Directors for the CSSCF.

(Last update: January 25, 2023)