Sarah Elizabeth Neville, PhD
My name is Sarah Elizabeth Neville, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Brown University. I received my PhD from Boston College School of Social Work and I research global child welfare.
Current estimates suggest some 5 million children around the world live in residential care institutions, commonly known as orphanages.
When I was a teen, my parents internationally adopted two toddlers who had lived in orphanages and foster care, sparking a lifelong passion for finding ways to ensure children in low- and middle-income countries without adequate parental care can thrive in families.
My research interests are transdisciplinary and focused on all aspects of this issue, such as:
What are the effects of residential care institutions (a.k.a. orphanages) on children's well-being and development? How might the effects vary for children of different ages or for different types of institutions?
What about the effects of family reintegration—including reunification, local foster care, and international and domestic adoption?
How can interventions—like family strengthening, parenting education, economic assistance—support successful reintegration?
How can unnecessary family separation and institutionalization be prevented?
I have used quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods in my work, and am passionate about integrating participatory approaches into research.
I'd love to connect!