For more than 35 years, Dr. Jones Harden has focused on the developmental and mental health needs of young children at environmental risk, specifically children who have been maltreated, are in the foster care system, or have been exposed to multiple family risks such as maternal depression, parent substance use, and poverty. She is particularly interested in using this research to inform practice, with respect to preventive interventions to promote positive outcomes for children reared in high-risk circumstances, such as home visitation and Early Head Start.
Dr. Jones Harden is the author/co-author of numerous publications, including the books Infants in the Child Welfare System: A Developmental Framework for Policy and Practice; Child Welfare and Child Well-Being: New Perspectives From the National Survey of Child Adolescent Well-being; and Beyond Common Sense: Child Welfare, Child Well-Being, and the Evidence for Policy Reform. She was a visiting Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and the Harris Visiting Scholar at the University of Minnesota Institute for Child Development. She has also served as Fellow for the Society for Research in Child Development Policy Fellow for the Administration for Children & Families, USDHHS; and a Fellow of ZERO TO THREE.