Rebecca Gomez, Ph.D.

Rebecca Gomez, Ph.D., is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Texas Social Work and the inaugural David Johnson Fellow in Social Work. In this role, she collaborates with faculty, staff, students, and university leadership to advance the School’s academic mission, overseeing programs and offices within Academic Affairs and supporting innovation in social work education.

Dr. Gomez’s research focuses on strengthening the systems that serve children and families and improving outcomes, particularly for families affected by substance use and behavioral health challenges. Her program of research is organized around a continuum-of-care framework that connects workforce preparation and systems capacity, service delivery and innovation, and family-centered interventions. A defining focus of her scholarship is the integration of substance use science into child welfare practice, workforce development, and system design, bridging fields that have historically operated separately.

Her research spans child welfare workforce development, substance-use-responsive practice, peer recovery support, family-centered prevention and intervention, and technology and digital inclusion for youth in foster care. Across this work, she examines how workforce capacity, organizational infrastructure, and service delivery systems can be strengthened to provide effective, accessible, and culturally responsive support to children and families. Her scholarship on technology in child welfare has examined how digital access and technological change affect education, health, relationships, safety, and well-being for youth in foster care.

A significant component of Dr. Gomez’s scholarship focuses on preparing the child welfare workforce to respond effectively to families affected by substance use disorders. She has led and contributed to federally and state-funded initiatives designed to strengthen professional knowledge, skills, and organizational capacity, including the Child Welfare and Addiction Specialist Fellowship and large-scale child welfare education and workforce development initiatives. Her broader research also examines family-centered and culturally grounded interventions designed to promote healthy child development, strengthen families, and reduce the long-term effects of adversity.

With more than 20 years of experience in clinical social work, Dr. Gomez’s research is deeply informed by her early practice with children and families and her experience within child welfare systems. This practice foundation continues to shape her commitment to applied and translational scholarship that produces knowledge useful to practitioners, public agencies, policymakers, and communities.

Her research has been supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, state child welfare agencies in Texas and Virginia, and private foundations. Her scholarship includes peer-reviewed research as well as professional reports, curricular resources, and other translational products designed to move research into policy and practice. She has also consulted on judicial matters and contributed expertise to legislative and policy initiatives involving trauma, substance use, child welfare, and family well-being.

Prior to joining The University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Gomez served as Interim Dean and Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work and held academic leadership positions at Our Lady of the Lake University.

Dr. Gomez serves on the editorial board of Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, the Board of Directors of Influencing Social Policy, and the Council on Social Work Education National Nominating Committee. She co-chaired the CSWE Specialized Practice Curricular Guide for Substance Use and received the Council on Social Work Education’s Distinguished Recent Contributions to Social Work Education Award in 2020 for her leadership in social work education.