Brittany P. Mihalec-Adkins is a family scientist focused on experiences and well-being among children and caregivers impacted by state-mandated interventions in the child welfare and carceral systems. Her work prioritizes both policy-relevant research and meaningful partnerships with communities and people with lived experience.

Prior to Child Trends, Brittany was a research analyst at Casey Family Programs, where she served as project coordinator for the 21st Century Research Agenda for a Child and Family Well-Being System—a sweeping, multi-year initiative funded by Casey Family Programs, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the William T. Grant Foundation. Brittany has also interned with the Family Impact Institute and Purdue’s Center for Families and volunteered with and helped design training materials and programming for local chapters of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

Brittany has extensive training in advanced quantitative methods, with particular interest in the many applications of structural equation modeling techniques for answering complex questions related to intervention delivery and family-level outcomes. She has also conducted extensive qualitative work using reflexive thematic analysis and grounded theory methods. Brittany’s work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy, and a Doris Duke Fellowship for the Promotion of Child Well-Being (now the Child Well-Being Research Network).

Brittany has published several academic articles in peer-reviewed journals and led policy briefs for outlets such as the Society for Research in Child Development and the National Council on Family Relations. She has presented at academic conferences across multiple disciplines, including the Society for Social Work Research, the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, and the American Psychological Association. Brittany has also presented on lived expertise engagement, including for the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare.

Brittany holds a PhD in human development and family studies, a master’s degree in educational psychology, and bachelor’s degrees in psychological sciences and law & society—all from Purdue University.