Jenn Lee Bellamy

Professor; Vice Provost, Faculty Affairs

Faculty

Craig Hall, 2148 S. High St. Denver, CO 80220

What I do

Despite the clear impact fathers have on their families, most child and family services do not well engage men as parents. We have a tremendous opportunity, and obligation, in the field of social work to support the well-being of children and parents by serving the whole family with effective interventions.

Specialization(s)

child welfare, evidence-based practice/implementation science, families and family systems, gender, research methods, social justice, veterans and the military, violence

Professional Biography

Jennifer Bellamy is currently serving as Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs at the University of Denver. At GSSW she taught research and theory courses at the master's and doctoral levels. She received her master's of science in social work from The University of Texas at Austin in 2000. Before earning her Ph.D. she worked as a crisis counselor and a project coordinator for a multisite demonstration project serving young, unmarried, low-income fathers. Bellamy completed her PhD at the Columbia University School of Social Work in 2006 and postdoctoral training at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in Saint Louis in 2008.

Bellamy's current research interests include the engagement of fathers in child and family services, child welfare and evidence-based practice. She has published extensively in the area of evidence-based social work practice and the development and testing of interventions to better serve fathers in child and family programs including home visiting and child welfare services.

Degree(s)

Ph.D., Social Work, Columbia University, 2006
MSW, Social Work, University of Texas, 2000

Professional Affiliations

Society for Social Work Research (SSWR)
Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
Other

Research

Dr. Bellamy's major research efforts include the development and testing of the Dads Matter-HV intervention. This intervention is a modular enhancement to standard home visiting programs that is designed to increase fathers' engagement in home visiting, reduce child maltreatment risk, and improve the co-parenting relationship. Her other major research project includes a partnership with Mathematica Policy Research to implement a Breakthrough Series Collaborative (BSC) to increase the engagement of fathers and paternal relatives in 6 child welfare systems across the United States. She is also collaborating with colleagues at the Butler Institute for Families to implement the BSC model for workforce wellbeing in partnership with Tribal and Public child welfare teams.

Areas of Research

child welfare

evidence-based practice/implementation science

families and family systems

gender

research methods

social justice

veterans and the military

violence

Key Projects

Featured Publications

Bellamy, J. L. (2009). A national study of male involvement among families in contact with the child welfare system. Child Maltreatment, 14(3), 255-262.

Thullen, M. J., McMillin, S. E., Korfmacher, J., Humphries, M., Bellamy, J. L., Henson, L., & Hans, S. (2014). Father Participation in a Community-Doula Home-Visiting Intervention for Young, African American Mothers. Infant Mental Health Journal, 35(5), 422-434.

Bellamy, J. L., Thullen, M., & Hans, S. (2015). Effect of low-income unmarried fathers' presence at birth on involvement. Journal of Marriage and Family, 77(3), 647-661. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12193

Brown, S. M., & Bellamy, J. L. (2017). Feasibility, acceptability, and clinical trends of a mindfulness-informed child welfare intervention: Implications for trauma-informed practice. Advances in Social Work, 18(1), 369-386. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.18060/21281

Guterman, N. B., Bellamy, J. L., & Banman, A. (2018). Promoting father involvement in home visiting services for vulnerable families: Findings from a pilot study of "Dads Matter". Child Abuse & Neglect, 76, 261-272. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.10.017

Presentations

Landers, A., Bellamy, J. L., & Danes, S. (2015). Child welfare-related outcomes of American Indian Children in Foster Care. Annual Conference. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: National Council on Family Relations.

O'Connor, A. A., & Bellamy, J. L. (2017). Parenting self-efficay among veteran fathers: An exploratory study. Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference. New Orleans, LA: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR).

Guterman, N. B., Bellamy, J. L., & Banman, A. (2017). Preliminary findings from a randomized study of an intervention to increase father engagement in home visiting. Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference. New Orleans, LA: Society for Social Work and Research (SSWR).

Bellamy, J. L. (2015). The Unique Context of Fathering. Society for Social Work and Research Conference. New Orleans, LA: Society for Social Work and Research.

Guterman, N. B., Bellamy, J. L., Aaron, B., & Mirque-Morales, S. (2015). How Can We Expand Home Visiting to Engage Dads? Strategies, Enhancements, and Early Program Impacts. Annual Program Meeting. Miami, FL: Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.

Awards

Excellence in Mentoring to Doctoral Students Award, Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver
Phi Alpha Honorary Member, Phi Alpha Honor Society
Distinguished Scholar Award, University of Denver Faculty Senate
Society for Social Work and Research Fellow, Society for Social Work and Research