Devon Brooks, associate professor and associate dean for faculty affairs at the USC School of Social Work, has been named to the Senior Research Fellows Program at the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, a non-profit research, education and advocacy organization dedicated to improving adoption laws, policies and practices.

Brooks, a highly accomplished scholar in the fields of adoption and foster care, has focused much of his work on identifying risk and protective factors related to child and family adjustment and well-being. He is a sought-after speaker and expert who has been involved in several long-term and large-scale adoption studies, and has published numerous articles, book chapters and reports on adoption-related issues.

"I think it's fair to say that Devon's work is some of the most important and insightful in the field today," said Adam Pertman, executive director of the institute. "He has earned his place among our senior research fellows, and we're very lucky to have him."

The Senior Research Fellows Program was created to enhance and expand the initiatives of the institute by regularly convening a group of the most accomplished experts in the field to share their knowledge, disseminate their findings and help shape better adoption policies and practices that affect tens of millions of children and families every day.

Brooks, who is principal investigator of "The SPIN Initiative: Evaluation of an In-Home, Strengths- and Video-Based Intervention for at-Risk Families" and "Enhancing Positive Outcomes in Transracial Adoptive Families Following Implementation of the Multiethnic Placement Act and Interethnic Adoption Provisions," is a member of the editorial board of Children and Youth Services Review, and has most recently published in Child and Family Social Work, Child Welfare, Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology and Social Work. He also is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, the Association of Black Social Workers, the Council on Social Work Education and the Society for Social Work and Research.