Reiko K. Boyd PhD, MSW

Reiko K. Boyd a children’s social worker in the largest child welfare agency in the nation, Boyd learned quickly of the main impetus for change in the enormous bureaucracy that was notoriously characterized as a classic “broken system:” Tragedy. The serious injury or death of a child in foster care and the media coverage that followed was a sure means of sending a shockwave through the agency of measures that were reactive and tangible. Knowing this process, Boyd felt the sting of shame personally. Boyd remained confident in Boyd's efforts as an individual caseworker, yet Boyd knew that the problems we dealt with day in and day out were multi-layered, intergenerational, systemic, and complex. While making home visits, Boyd became a direct witness to the pronounced inequality embedded across neighborhoods and communities of color. These problems weren’t deemed newsworthy, but they sent me reeling and made me ready to pursue change intentionally and dynamically. As such, Boyd's practice experience in public child welfare spurred Boyd's transition from practitioner to researcher, providing a solid base for Boyd's research interests.

Reiko K. Boyd has organized around three areas of inquiry: racial/ethnic disparities in children’s services systems, structural inequality and opportunity in African American communities, and infant/adolescent health and wellbeing. Boyd has a strong commitment to conducting research that addresses racial disparities in child welfare outcomes, yet Boyd realizes that the patterns of disparity that frequently manifest in the child welfare system represent a piece in a larger puzzle. Therefore, Boyd's broader research agenda focuses on the connection between disparities across service systems and community contexts. Boyd is particularly interested in advancing research that examines how structural inequality at the community level shapes the opportunity structure in place for children of color.