Megan Feely, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Megan Feely is an associate professor at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. Her research interests include child welfare, child maltreatment prevention, and the ways public policy, service systems, and economic supports shape child and family well-being.

Her work examines mental health, behavioral outcomes, and permanency for children involved in the child welfare system, with particular attention to prevention-oriented and systems-level interventions that reduce risk and promote stability for children and families.

Dr. Feely has served as Co–Principal Investigator, evaluator, and consultant on multiple projects, including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–funded initiatives examining the prevention of adverse childhood experiences and the impact of public policies on child maltreatment and intimate partner violence. Her grant-funded research also includes statewide needs assessments and feasibility studies addressing early childhood systems, maternal and child health, substance use treatment utilization, and home visiting programs. Collectively, this work supports evidence-informed policymaking and program development at the state and national levels.

Dr. Feely is a widely published scholar whose work address the relationships among employment policy, childcare subsidies, caregiving supports, and child maltreatment risk, as well as the effectiveness of child welfare services, parent training interventions, and system reform efforts. Her research has been published in journals such as Social Service Review, Children and Youth Services Review, Child Maltreatment, Journal of Family Violence, and Journal of the Society for Social Work & Research. She has also authored and co-authored book chapters on child mental health policy and evidence-based practice in child welfare.

In addition to her academic scholarship, Dr. Feely engages in public scholarship through writing policy reports and guidance for state and community agencies on home visiting systems, child neglect prevention, and policy coordination. She also contributes to the profession through service on the Publication Committee of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children.

At UConn, Dr. Feely teaches advanced macro practice and courses focused on policies and programs affecting women, children, and families.

She earned her Ph.D. in social work from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, where her dissertation examined relationships among social skills, mental health, and behavior in child welfare–involved populations. She also holds an MS in clinical investigation from the Washington University School of Medicine, an MSW from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work, and a BA from the University of Notre Dame.

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