Amittia Parker
- LMSW, MPA, PhD
- Doctoral Graduate
- Adjunct Faculty
Contact Info
Personal Links
Biography —
Amittia’s research, teaching, and service focus on advancing minority mental health and equity, with a particular interest in Black and Latinx populations with young children. Amittia has 15 years of experience as a mental health consultant across a variety of settings and these experiences both enhance and inform her research and teaching.
Dissertation: Support Across Contexts: A Grounded Theory Study on Mental Health and Supports Among African American Mothers
Education —
Research —
Maternal Mental Health, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, Racial Disparities among Blacks and Latin/x Communities, Mental Health and Higher Education, Critical Race Intersectionality, Community Based Participatory Research, and Prevention Science
Teaching —
Amittia is committed to preparing and supporting the next generation of social workers, with a particular interest in recruiting, training, and mentoring students of color. Amittia engages with social work students through research, teaching, and service. She is particularly interested in student mental health and currently conducting a study to understand the perceptions of supports across contexts. This work will also lead to developing, implementing, and evaluating mental health interventions for social work students. Amittia’s teaching experience includes teaching fully online, blended, and in-person courses within the undergraduate and graduate programs.
Areas of interest include: Racial Equity and Social Justice, Practice with Black and Latino Communities, Social Work Practice with Children and Families, Communities and Organizations, Spirituality in Social Work, Leadership in Social Work, and Qualitative Methods.
Selected Publications —
Parker, A., Johnson-Motoyama M., Mariscal, S.E., Guillamo-Ramos, V., Reynoso, E., & Fernandez, C. (2020). Community health workers addressing reproductive health disparities in immigrant Latino communities through an evidence based intervention: An implementation study. Health & Social Work.
Parker, A. & Blackwell, A. Capturing Context: The role of social support and neighborhood on the psychological well-being of African American families. (2019). Urban Social Work.
Kepple, N.J., Parker, A., Whitemore, S., & Comtois, M. (2019). Nowhere to go? Examining facility tolerance levels for serving individuals using medication assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 104, 42-50.
Kepple, N.J. & Parker, A. (2018, September). Moving Towards a More Responsive Substance Use Disorder Continuum of Care: A Comprehensive Community Needs Assessment for the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas.
Parker, A. (2020, August). Social Work Student Mental Health and Supports: Recommendations for a Culture of Mental Health. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas.
Selected Presentations —
Parker, A. (2020, June 11). Supports Across Contexts: Examining Support that Enhances Maternal Mental Health Among African American Mothers with Young Children. Poster Presentation, 17th World Congress of the World Association for Infant Mental Health, Creating Stories in Infant Mental health: Research, Recovery, and Regeneration, Brisbane, Australia (Refereed/Cancelled).
Parker, A. (2020, April 14). Maternal Mental Health and Supports: An African Centered Literature Review. Poster Presentation, Presented at National Association of Black Social Workers Conference, Maat: African-Centered Values and Practical Healing Tools, Detroit, M.I. (Refereed/Conference Cancelled).
Parker, A. (2020, January 16). Toward a More Culturally Specific Understanding of Maternal Mental Health Disparities Among African American Mothers with Young Children. What's Race Got to Do with It? an Intersectional Examination of Racial and Economic Disparities in Maternal and Child Health Symposium, Society of Social Work Research Conference, Reducing Race and Economic Inequality, Washington, D.C. (Refereed).
Parker, A. (2019, October 26). Capturing Contexts linked to Psychological Wellbeing among African American Families. Presented at Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting. Looking Back, Looking Forward, Denver, C.O. (Refereed).
Marsh, J., Jones, K., & Parker, A. (2019, October 27). Student Mental Health and Field Education. Presented at Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting. Looking Back, Looking Forward, Denver, C.O. (Refereed).
Parker, A. & Kepple, N.J. (2019, January 18). Understanding the Community Context of Housing Services for Individuals in Recovery from Substance Use Disorder By Facility Spiritual-Orientation. Poster Presentation, Society of Social Work Research Conference, Ending Gender Based, Family and Community Violence, San Francisco, C.A. (Refereed).
Awards & Honors —
- 2019-2021: Minority Fellowship Program, Council on Social Work Education ($48,000)
- 2020: Doctoral Student Research Fund Dissertation Award ($1,500)
- 2020: SSWR 2020 Doctoral Student Travel Award, Society for Social Work Research ($500)
- 2019: Eisenhower Roberts Graduate Fellowship, Eisenhower Institute ($10,000)
- 2019: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Dissertation Award, KU SSW ($1,000)
- 2019: SSWR 2019 Doctoral Student Travel Award, Society for Social Work Research ($500)
- 2018: Graduate Studies Summer Research Scholarship, University of Kansas ($5,000)
- 2018: Award for Advancing Minority Mental Health, APA Foundation ($5,000)
- 2017: Graduate Studies Diversity Fellowship, University of Kansas ($18,000)
- 2011: Edward A. Smith Leadership in Public Service, University of Missouri-KC
- 2006: Margo Award for Outstanding Performance in Field, University of Kansas
Grants & Other Funded Activity —
- 2020: Intersectionality Qualitative Research Methods Workshop, University of Texas-Austin
- 2019: Summer Workshop on Black and Latinx Research, University of Michigan ($1000)
- 2018: Dissertation Proposal Workshop, Howard’s CRW and the Institute for Research on Poverty
- 2018: Social Justice Fellows Program, University of Kansas