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When Harold Briggs met a foster mom struggling to parent a pregnant teenager with bipolar disorder, he took an unusual step. Over the phone, the professor of Social Work taught the mother social work theory and evidence-based practice so that she could design a strategy to apply to her foster daughter.

The case study, published in 2009, illustrates Briggs’ passion for combining science, cultural knowledge and collaboration. Through his work with Multnomah County, the state of Oregon, and at the University of Chicago, Briggs has become known for his work teaching skills to work with people who are at risk—within families, child welfare and juvenile justice.

Though children of color make up just 10 percent of Oregon’s population, nearly 20 percent of all children in foster care are minorities. Minority children in foster care tend to stay in the system longer than white children.

Often, experts have focused on trying to delineate the source of racism and oppression, puzzling over whether it originates from inside or outside a system such as child welfare. Briggs’ work punctures the false dichotomy. “Each of those systems comes from culture and culture comes from them,” Briggs says. “Neither system is an island unto itself.”

Accepting this allows the focus of research to shift toward developing best practices for addressing the impact of structural racism on individuals.

Social work fits a pattern Briggs set early in life of helping others and making connections in a childhood touched by poverty and homelessness. “Social work chose me,” Briggs says. “I didn’t choose it. My mom says I was called to it.”

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Learn more about School of Social Work's Professor Harold Briggs.