Brad Richardson, Ph.D.
Dr. Richardson is a Research Scientist and Adjunct Associate Professor at The University of Iowa School of Social Work where he serves as co‐director of the Consortium for Substance Abuse Research and Evaluation and Research Director of the UI National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice, promoting culturally responsive family centered services through research and evaluation, technical assistance, training and information dissemination. Dr. Richardson is also Director of the Center for Public Health Evaluation and Research, Disproportionate Minority Contact [DMC] Resource Center Coordinator. In 2018, he established the Life Skills Progression National Center at the University of Iowa Des Moines campus.
Dr. Richardson has developed valid and reliable instruments that assist practitioners in measuring progress to first, show those with whom they are working the successes they are having which they can build upon, and second, use aggregate results for the dual purpose of measuring outcomes for other interested stakeholders (e.g., demonstrating outcomes to funders, managers, administrators), and for inform program staff of the results being achieved in order to improve program and client outcomes. This work brings together career expertise in research and practice. Using a family centered, strengths‐based and culturally responsive frame of reference, Dr. Richardson has conducted well over a hundred evaluations of early childhood, child welfare, juvenile justice, public health, education, justice system, mental health, and substance use disorder projects. He has written extensively on racial and ethnic disparities and what are now referred to as social determinants of health to help improve service systems including chronic disease, cancer and aging. He has served as National DMC Coordinator on the board of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice testifying before the National Academies in the development of their Developmental Approach to Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare publication and served as two‐time Chair of the American Public Health Association's Cancer Forum.