Brenda Jones Harden, PhD, is Professor of Social Work at Columbia School of Social Work. She has been a member of the ZERO TO THREE Board of Directors since 2012 and is its immediate past president. She is also a former ZERO TO THREE Fellow.
Contributions to the Field
Dr. Jones Harden has devoted her career to understanding and promoting the developmental and mental health of young children who have experienced adversity, particularly those who have been maltreated, been involved in the foster care system, or faced multiple family risks. She is especially interested in using research to inform practice, with a focus on preventive interventions that promote positive outcomes for children growing up in high-risk circumstances, including home visitation and Early Head Start.
Affiliations
- Ottman Professor of Child and Family Welfare, Columbia University School of Social Work
- Professor Emerita, University of Maryland Early Childhood Education Program
Current Research
Dr. Jones Harden is a site principal investigator and associate director of the national Healthy Brain and Child Development Study, which is examining the effects of early adversity on young children’s brain development and behavioral outcomes. She continues to publish research on the developmental and mental health outcomes of children experiencing a range of ecological risks, as well as interventions designed to strengthen caregiving experiences and improve children’s developmental and mental health outcomes.
Recognition and Thought Leadership
Dr. Jones Harden is the author or coauthor of numerous publications, including the books Infants in the Child Welfare System: A Developmental Framework for Policy and Practice; Child Welfare and Child Well-Being: New Perspectives From the National Survey of Child Adolescent Well-Being; and Beyond Common Sense: Child Welfare, Child Well-Being, and the Evidence for Policy Reform.
She has served as a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and as the Harris Visiting Scholar at the University of Minnesota Institute for Child Development. She has also served as a Society for Research in Child Development Policy Fellow at the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
In addition, Dr. Jones Harden has served on a variety of federal, state, and local boards and advisory groups, including the National Academy of Sciences consensus panel on Exploring the Opportunity Gap for Young Children.
