Barbara Fallon

Barbara Fallon is Associate Vice-President, Research and a full Professor at the Factor Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto. Dr. Fallon holds a Canada Research Chair in Child Welfare. Dr. Fallon is a leading international social services researcher who has pioneered methodologies that integrate statistics, big data, and survey design with participatory community-engaged approaches.

She has with cross-appointments at the Hospital for Sick Children and the Kempe Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect, Department of Pediatrics, University Colorado School of Medicine. Her research has received over 31 million dollars, focusing on the collection of novel data to inform child welfare systems, policy, and practice.

Professor Fallon’s scientific impact on child welfare is evident in her high productivity: over 200 peer-reviewed publications including seminal papers in Child Abuse and Neglect, Child Maltreatment, the Canadian Medical Association Journal, and crucial child welfare textbooks. She has robust international partnerships making significant contributions to leading conference programs, including the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect and the European Scientific Association on Residential and Family Care for Children and Adolescents.

Her commitment to knowledge mobilization across local, provincial, national, and international child welfare communities is unwavering. Her impressive record of 250 peer-reviewed presentations and invited presentations has garnered prestigious recognition, including the Canadian Child Welfare League Outstanding Research and Evaluation Award (2012) and the University of Toronto’s President Impact Award (2020), celebrating work that resonates beyond academia.  

Her research focuses on the collection and sharing of reliable, valid national and provincial data to provide an evidence-based understanding of the trajectories of children and families in the child welfare system. She is currently the Principal Investigator of the Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (OIS) 2023 and was the Scientific Director of The First Nations/Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (FN/CIS). These studies provide a comprehensive description of the needs of children and families identified to the child welfare system allowing for evidence-based improvements to policy and practice. Dr. Fallon is also the Principal Investigator of the Ontario Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (OCANDS). Dr. Fallon’s research has contributed to the implementation of key policy initiatives in child welfare including differential response models and specialized intimate partner violence teams. 

Professor Fallon has a true passion for enabling research excellence, nurturing collaborative communities, fostering research impact, building partnerships, and facilitating communities of practice.