Protecting Children

Fellows and Senior Fellows in American Humane’s Children’s Division are scholars and practitioners who have dedicated their careers to improving the status of children and have made important and foundational contributions related to American Humane initiatives in the field of child protection. They are a key resource for American Humane and make direct contributions to the organization’s work.

American Humane also has Scholars in Residence at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, plus the American Humane Endowed Chair at that school has its inaugural occupant.

Fellows

American Humane currently has two Senior Fellows in its Child Protection Research Center: Len Dalgleish, Ph.D., and Patricia Schene, Ph.D. Michael Doolan is a Fellow in American Humane’s National Center on Family Group Decision Making.

Dalgleish, appointed in 2009, is professor and chair in decision making in the Department of Nursing and Midwifery at Stirling University in Stirling, Scotland, and program head at HealthQWest, which is a research effort focused on decision making in health care. Learn more about Dr. Dalgleish.

Schene, appointed in 2007, has worked for more than 30 years in the field of child and family services as a state administrator, private agency director, researcher and professor. She resides in Littleton, Colo. Learn more about Dr. Schene.

The American Humane Child Protection Research Center, under the direction of John Fluke, Ph.D., focuses on fundamental issues in public child protective services and develops policies and practices to address them. A primary area of attention is improving the assessment and decision-making process within the system, with the goal of making better decisions that, in turn, lead to substantially improved outcomes for children in care.

American Humane established the National Center on Family Group Decision Making in 1999 as a vehicle for promoting and supporting family and community involvement and leadership in decision making. This national center provides training and technical assistance, research, and resources to communities implementing the process.

Scholars in Residence

American Humane has two Scholars in Residence at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work in Colorado. They are Myles Edwards, Ph.D. and John Fluke, Ph.D. Learn more about our Scholars in Residence at the University of Denver website.

American Humane Endowed Chair

American Humane and the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work established the American Humane Endowed Chair in 2008 to explore the expanding field of animal-assisted social work and research the bond between humans and animals. In 2009, it was announced that Frank R. Ascione, Ph.D., of Utah State University would be the inaugural occupant. Learn about Dr. Ascione here.