Research Summary
Public assistance programs and policies; social welfare policy and welfare reform; family and child poverty issues; research with low income populations; developing trauma informed agencies and communities
Education
- MPS, Pastoral Studies, Loyola University - Chicago
- MSW, College of Social Work, University of Utah
- Ph D, College of Social Work, University of Utah. Project: DEVELOPING A PROFILE FOR IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL LONG-TERM WELFARE RECIPIENTS IN UTAH: THE CHANGING FACE OF WELFARE - FROM WELFARE TO FAREWELL
Biography
Mary Beth Vogel-Ferguson, PhD, CSW received her Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Utah in 2008 and is currently the principal investigator of the FEP Refocus Study of Utah, a research partnership with Utah's Department of Workforce Services (DWS). For the past 25 years she has directed multiple studies and program evaluations with state and regional level government agencies, exploring the characteristics and needs of various low income populations, primarily cash assistance recipients. She has assisted all levels of agency management, from senior leadership to front line workers, in using the data for program and policy development.
In Summer 2008, Dr. Vogel-Ferguson joined the faculty of the College of Social Work at the University of Utah and teaches research at the masters level. She continues to provide workshops for local and national welfare agency administrators, research bodies and social work groups addressing issues related to welfare policy, poverty, trauma/trauma-informed approaches and serving the diverse welfare population.