Judith L. Perrigo

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Professor Perrigo draws from her personal background as a Salvadoran immigrant and her 15 years of  applied clinical work with children and families to inform her scholarship. Specifically, Judy’s research focuses on the wellbeing of young children – birth to five years old – with emphasis on holistic and transdisciplinary prevention and early intervention (PEI) initiatives with underserved, vulnerable, and marginalized populations. Dr. Perrigo has worked on projects that involve international and domestic child welfare, developmental delays and disabilities, IDEA Part C early intervention services, neuro-cognitive development, early childhood education, and neighborhood wellness that intersect with underserved children, families, and communities of color. Dr. Perrigo’s work has been funded by the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), CSWE Minority Fellowship Program (MFP), Maternal and Child Health Bureau, as well as non-profit organizations like Whole Child International (WCI) and foundations like Tikum Olam Foundation. 

Dr. Perrigo is currently working on the Chicago Heights Early Childhood Center (CHECC) longitudinal and large-scale experimental study that is funded by National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Dr. Perrigo is exploring the role of parental involvement among low socioeconomic status (SES) students who close the low/high-SES achievement gap. Recently, Dr. Perrigo launched a research study to explore how CHECC families are coping with education-related parental involvement during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In community, Dr. Perrigo serves as an endorsement panel reviewer for the California Center for Infant-Family and Early Childhood Mental Health at WestEd Center for Prevention & Early Intervention. Dr. Perrigo also provides reflective practice supervision at El Centro de Amistad. She serves as a reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals, including Health Promotion Practice, Maternal and Child Health Journal, and Children and Youth Services Review Journal.

Professor Perrigo teaches both SW210B: Foundations of SW Practice II and SW231A: Advanced Social Welfare Practice.

Jennifer A. Ray

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Jennifer Ray is currently a fifth-year doctoral student in the Social Welfare program at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Her scholarship centers on childhood adversity, family relations, and interventions aimed at reducing behavior problems among young children in African American families.

Jennifer’s current work examines the associations between and among adverse experiences in early childhood, nonresident father involvement, and child behavior problems in socially and economically disadvantaged African American families.

Prior to joining the Social Welfare program at UCLA, Jennifer worked as a clinician providing community mental health services to high-risk children and families in Los Angeles county. She has also worked on community-based research with the UCLA Social Justice Partnership and the UCLA Labor Center.

Jennifer completed her bachelor’s degree in Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles and received her MSW from the University of Southern California.