Jon Phillips, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Jon Phillips, LSW, is an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. His research focuses on inter-professional and interagency collaboration, child welfare workforce development, service integration, and strategies to improve child and family well-being. His work seeks to advance understanding of how collaborative approaches within child welfare systems can enhance service quality and improve outcomes for children and families.

Dr. Phillips is the principal investigator and co-principal investigator on several funded research projects examining child welfare practice, workforce development, and family-centered interventions. As co-principal investigator of Project PRESERVE & CONNECT, supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, he is helping evaluate services designed to strengthen family well-being in rural Vermont and in Black and Latine communities in Connecticut. He also leads research exploring how Family Group Conferencing can reduce racial and ethnic inequities in child welfare and how social work education programs prepare child welfare professionals for effective interprofessional collaboration. His scholarship is grounded in a commitment to strengthening child welfare systems and ensuring that children and families receive coordinated, high-quality services.

At UConn, Dr. Phillips teaches in the Individuals, Groups, and Families Practice concentration. His teaching includes courses in foundation social work practice, child and adolescent mental health, and human behavior in the social environment. He also contributes to BSW and doctoral seminars focused on child welfare and professional development. His teaching emphasizes evidence-informed practice, systems thinking, interdisciplinary teamwork, and the application of research to real-world practice settings.

Before joining the UConn faculty in 2019, Dr. Phillips worked extensively with children, adolescents, and families involved in the child welfare system. His practice experience informs both his research and teaching, providing students with a grounded understanding of challenges facing child welfare professionals and the systems that serve vulnerable children and families.

Through his research, teaching, and professional service, he is committed to advancing policies and practices that strengthen child welfare systems and improve outcomes for children, families, and communities.

Dr. Phillips earned his Ph.D. and MSW, with a concentration in child welfare, from the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work. His doctoral dissertation, “Working Together to Achieve Safe and Timely Reunification: A Mixed Methods Study of Interprofessional Collaboration in Child Welfare,” explored the role of collaborative practice in supporting family reunification and contributed to the growing body of knowledge on interdisciplinary approaches to child welfare services. He also holds a BA in anthropology and environmental studies from Macalester College.

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