• Ph.D., North Carolina State University, Concentration: School Psychology
• M.S., North Carolina State University, Concentration: Psychology
• B.S., James Madison University, Concentration: Biology and Psychology
• Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Dr. Owens is broadly interested in understanding the causes and consequences of family distress on children’s development. Her research utilizes both qualitative and quantitative approaches to explore the complex associations between risk factors (e.g., living in extreme poverty, experiences of child maltreatment, etc.) and protective factors (e.g., warm-responsive parent-child relationship, teacher support, strong executive functioning skills, etc.). She has spent much of career working with families experiencing homelessness as well as families involved with the child welfare system. Dr. Owens is particularly interested in the use of parenting interventions as pathway to promote positive social-emotional development in children.

• Parenting Interventions
• Bridging Gaps Between Research, Clinical Work, and Policy
• Implementation and Dissemination of interventions
• Family Homelessness
• Child Welfare
• Young Children’s Mental Health
• Food and Housing Insecurity among College Students
• Program Evaluation

Owens, C.R., Stokes, M.N., & Haskett, M.E. (2022). “I just want my parenting to be able to be better than what it is”: A qualitative exploration of parenting strengths and needs of mothers experiencing homelessness. Child & Family Social Work, 27(4), 771-782.

Armstrong, J.M., Owens, C.R., & Haskett, M.E. (2021). Effects of a brief parenting intervention in shelters for families experiencing homelessness. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 30(9), 2097-2107.

Crenshaw, M., Owens, C.R., Dow-Smith, C., Olm-Shipman, C., & Monroe, R. (2021). Lessons learned from implementing childhood adversity screening in a pediatric clinic. Pediatric Quality Safety, 6(6).

Owens, C.R., Haskett, M.E., & Dow-Smith, C. (2021). Integrating behavioral healthcare into an urban hospital-based pediatric primary care practice. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 32(1), 179-190.