Lorenzo L. Benavides
Assistant Professor
What I do
I teach in the Graduate School of Social Work and study how children and families in the child welfare system fare over time and how the providers who serve them stay well.Specialization(s)
child welfare, Healthcare Social Work, Provider Well-Being
Professional Biography
Lorenzo Benavides, PhD, MSW, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work and an affiliate of the LatinX Center. He earned his PhD from The Ohio State University, MSW from Washington University in St. Louis, and BSW from The University of Texas at Austin. Before entering academia, he spent more than nine years as a medical social worker in emergency and trauma settings at Mayo Clinic, Texas Children’s Hospital, and Nationwide Children’s Hospital. His research focuses on two related areas: the well-being of children and families involved with the child welfare system, using longitudinal quantitative methods, and the well-being of the professionals who serve them, including secondary traumatic stress and vicarious resilience among social workers, nurses, and physicians.
Degree(s)
- Ph.D., The Ohio State University, College of Social Work, 2026
- MSW, Mental Health and Healthcare Delivery (Management certification track), Washington University in St. Louis, 2016
- BSW, The University of Texas at Austin, 2013
Research
My research has two connected lines. The first examines the well-being of children and families involved with the child welfare system. Using longitudinal quantitative methods and national datasets, I study resilience, behavioral health, and the family and contextual factors that shape outcomes among children exposed to maltreatment.
The second focuses on the well-being of professionals who respond to child maltreatment. Through qualitative and quantitative studies, I examine secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma, vicarious resilience, and the workplace conditions that help providers sustain this work. This line is informed by my clinical experience in pediatric emergency and trauma settings. I also collaborate on community-engaged research examining how these focal groups experience institutional scrutiny in the United States.
The second focuses on the well-being of professionals who respond to child maltreatment. Through qualitative and quantitative studies, I examine secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma, vicarious resilience, and the workplace conditions that help providers sustain this work. This line is informed by my clinical experience in pediatric emergency and trauma settings. I also collaborate on community-engaged research examining how these focal groups experience institutional scrutiny in the United States.
Areas of Research
child welfare
child maltreatment
resilience
child behavioral health
secondary traumatic stress
vicarious trauma
vicarious resilience
pediatric emergency social work
child abuse pediatrics
immigrant families
longitudinal methods
qualitative methods
