Cassandra L. Barragan BSW, MSW, PhD

Barragan received her BSW from Southern Illinois University in 1994 after which she worked in foster care as both a caseworker and program supervisor. In 1996 she returned to earn her MSW from the University of Illinois. Since earning her MSW, she has worked primarily in the health care industry and a substantive portion of her work experience being in long-term care consulting. During this time, Barragan returned to school and is now pursuing her Ph.D. in Social Work from Wayne State University.

Research interests include working with large data sets in particular the NSSE, CIRP, University baseddata, and the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS). Her current research includes comparison of FederalNursing home regulations and state Social Work licensure and substance abuse in elders based on the SEMCA study conducted at WSU. Her dissertation uses HRS data and is titled “The longitudinal buffering impact of personal resources on life satisfaction following stressful life events of minority elders”.