Mónica Ruiz-Casares

I am a Professor in the School of Child & Youth Care at Toronto Metropolitan University and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and in the School of Social Work; and Associate Member of the Department of Equity, Ethics, and Policy and the Center for Research on Children and Families at McGill University. For a decade, I was Staff Investigator at the Sherpa University Institute in Montreal, where I evaluated health and social services for migrant and refugee families and other culturally diverse populations. I was born in Spain and have lived and/or worked in all continents (except Antarctica!). A lawyer by training (ICADE, Spain), I obtained an MSc in Program Planning and Evaluation and a PhD in Policy Analysis and Management / Human Services Studies from Cornell University, a MA in International Development from The George Washington University, and Postdoctoral Fellowships in Social and Cultural Child Psychiatry at McGill University. I lead mixed-methods studies on child wellbeing/mental health and protection cross-culturally, mainly in contexts of parent-child separation in low- and middle-income countries. I am also interested in ethical and methodological issues involved in research with and by young people. I am a member of the Board of Directors of the American Evaluation Association, Co-Chair of the International Society for Child Indicators, and a Credentialed Evaluator with the Canadian Evaluation Society. I have worked in policy and program evaluation of human services internationally for more than 25 years.

• CYC 8002: Child & Youth Care Research Methods, (Master of Arts in Child and Youth Care program)
• CYC 604: Social Research & Evaluation II

• Who Minds the Children? Clarifying the Role of Public Policies and Socio-Ecological Factors in Non-Adult Child Supervision in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
• International Survey of Children’s Wellbeing (ISCWeB) in Namibia
• Cultural adaptation of the STEP program [STEP-3: Soutenir la Transition et l'Engagement dans la Parentalité]
  
• Human-Wildlife Interactions: Nature, Causes, and Impact on Women and Children Across Cultures
• Linguistic Diversity and Interpretation in Health and Social Services
• International and Canadian Child Rights Partnership (T. Collins)
• Visit the Global Child Care & Wellbeing Collective, for information about our research and evaluation approaches, interests and projects.

Special issues:

• Ruiz-Casares, M., Lacharité, C., & Martin, F. (2020). Special Issue: Child Neglect. Child Indicators Research, 13(2), 363-571.
• Collins, T. M., Grover, S., Ruiz-Casares, M., & Tisdall, E. K. M. (2017). Special Issue: Facilitating Child Participation in International Child Protection. International Journal of Human Rights, 21(1).

Journal articles:

• Friedrich Schutz, F., Miconi, D., Bedin, L.M. and Ruiz-Casares, M. (2024). Contribution of Relationships with Friends and Teachers and Experiences of School Violence to the Subjective Well-Being of Immigrant Children. J Happiness Stud 25, 30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-024-00733-y

• Ruiz-Casares, M., Phommavong, S., Park, S., & Douangphachanh, M. (2024). ‘Supervising children to be good people’: Parents and children's views of child supervision in Laos. Child & Family Social Work, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.13140

• Ruiz-Casares M., Sullivan R, Gonzalez E, Li P, Lacharité C. (2023). Cross-Cultural Mobility and Agency in Assessing the Appropriateness of Child Supervision in the Context of Cultural Diversity and Migration in Quebec. Social Sciences. 2023; 12(9):515. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci12090515

• Iwo, R., Ruiz-Casares, M. & Nazif-Muñoz, J.I. (2023). The Increasing Prevalence of Children Home Alone in Ghana: The Importance of Considering Regional Inequalities. Child Ind Res 16, 2013–2032. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-023-10038-w

• Talbot, K., Talavera, P., Schutz, F., & Ruiz-Casares, M. (2023). Pre-/Post-Assessment of a sexual and reproductive health training program for young people in Namibia. Global Journal of Health Science, 15 (1): 47-57. doi: 10.5539/gjhs.v15n1p47.

• Yamaguchi, S., Bentayeb, N., Holtom, A., Molnar, P., Constantinescu, T., Tisdall, E.K.M., Tuong, J., Iyer, S., & Ruiz-Casares, M. (2023). Participation of Children and Youth in Mental Health Policymaking: A Scoping Review [Part I]. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 50(1):58-83. doi: 10.1007/s10488-022-01223-0.

• Yamaguchi, S., Tuong, J., Tisdall, E.K.M., Bentayeb, N., Holtom, Iyer, S., & Ruiz-Casares, M. (2023). “Youth as ‘accessories’”: Stakeholder perspectives on youth participation in mental health policymaking [Part II] Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 50(1):84-99.doi: 10.1007/s10488-022-01230-1.

• Gonzalez, E. & Ruiz-Casares, M. (2022). Photo journals with refugee youth: Methodological reflections of conducting research during the pandemic. Special Issue L. Gautier & N. Bentayeb (Guest Eds.), “Expérience des réfugiés, demandeurs d’asile et migrants sans statut et offre de services de santé et sociaux pendant la pandémie au Québec”. Alterstice, 11(2), 79-96.

• Ruiz-Casares, M., Thombs, B.D., Mayo, N, Scott, S, Andrina, M, Platt, R.W. (2022). The Families First Program to Prevent Child Abuse: Results of a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial in West Java, Indonesia. Prev Sci. 23, 1457–1469 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-022-01433-w

• Gonzalez, E. & Ruiz-Casares, M. (2022). “I wish every day was Saturday”: Newcomer youth and program facilitators’ experiences of a community-based resettlement program during the COVID-19 pandemic in Montreal. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, DOI: 10.1080/09518398.2022.2061074

• Gentz, S., Chouinard, L.J., & Ruiz-Casares, M. Time use and time use satisfaction: An examination of children’s out of school activities in Namibia. Special Issue “Searching for the Everyday in African Childhoods”, British Academy. [Accepted]

• Gonzalez, E. & Ruiz-Casares, M. “I wish every day was Saturday”: Newcomer youth and program facilitators’ experiences of a community-based resettlement program during the COVID-19 pandemic in Montreal. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, DOI: 10.1080/09518398.2022.2061074

• Rousseau, C., Rummens, J.A., Frounfelker, R.L. Ruiz-Casares, M., & Cleveland (2021). Canadian Health Personnel Attitudes Toward Refugee Claimants’ Entitlement to Health Care. Int. Migration & Integration. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-021-00892-4

• Gonzalez, E., & Ruiz-Casares, M. (2021). Negotiating child agency in childcare practices among immigrant families. Child & Family Social Work, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12869

• Gentz S, Zeng C, & Ruiz-Casares M. The role of individual-, family-, and school-level resilience in the subjective well-being of children exposed to violence in Namibia. Child Abuse Negl. 2021 Sep;119(Pt 2):105087. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105087. Epub 2021 May 13. PMID: 33992423.

• Bérubé, A., Clément, M. È., Lafantaisie, V., LeBlanc, A., Baron, M., Picher, G., Turgeon, J., Ruiz-Casares, M., & Lacharité, C. (2021). How societal responses to COVID-19 could contribute to child neglect. Child abuse & neglect, 116(Pt 2), 104761. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104761

• Grégoire-Labrecque, G., Lafantaisie, V., Trocmé, N., Lacharité, C., Li, P., Audet, G., Sullivan, R., & Ruiz-Casares, M. (2020). ‘Are We Talking as Professionals or as Parents?’ Complementary views on supervisory neglect among professionals working with families in Quebec, Canada. Children and Youth Services Review, 118, 105407. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105407

• Ruiz-Casares, M., Lacharité, C., & Martin, F. (2020). Child Neglect Indicators: a Field in Critical Need of Development Globally. Child Indicators Research, 13(2), 363-367. doi:10.1007/s12187-019-09712-9

• Klassen, C. L., Gonzalez, E., Sullivan, R., & Ruiz-Casares, M. (2020). ‘I’m just asking you to keep an ear out’: parents’ and children’s perspectives on caregiving and community support in the context of migration to Canada. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 1-19. doi:10.1080/1369183X.2019.1707647

• Collins, T, Jamieson, L., Wright, L.H.V., Rizzini, I., Mayhew, A., Tisdall, A.K.M. & Ruiz-Casares, M. (2020). Involving child and youth advisors in academic research about child participation: The Child and Youth Advisory Committees of the International and Canadian Child Rights Partnership. Children and Youth Services Review, 109, 104569. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104569

• Ruiz-Casares, M. & Gonzalez, E. (2020). La Participación infantil en la investigación sobre la protección de la niñez: El papel de los comités asesores de niños, niñas y jóvenes. O Social em Questão - Ano XXIII - nº 46 - Jan a Abr/2020

• Merry, L., Hanley, J., Ruiz-Casares, M., Archambault, I., Mogere, D. (2019). Migrant families with children in Montreal, Canada and transnational family support: A protocol for a focused ethnography. BMJ Open, 2019 Sep 26;9(9):e029074. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-029074.

• Cislaghi, B., Bukuluki, P., Chowdhury, M., Miranda Espinosa, A., Kenny, L., Kohl, A., Kusumaningrum, S., Harouna Brah, B., Love, C., Mathpati, M., Nkwi, P., Ona, F., Porter, J., Ruiz-Casares, M., Saldanha, N., Sulaiman, M., and Wessels, M. (2019). Global Health Is Political; Can It Also Be Compassionate? Journal of global health, 9(2), 020306. doi:10.7189/jogh.09.020306

• Moon, J., & Ruiz-Casares, M. (2019). Family’s Migration Experience and Distress Among Asian-Canadian Immigrant Youth. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 50(1), 7-32. doi:10.3138/jcfs.009-2017

• Ruiz-Casares, M., Lilley, S., Thombs, B., Platt, R.W., Scott, S., Isdijoso, W., Hermanus, E., Andrina, M., & Mayo, N. (2019). Protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial evaluating a parenting with home visitation programme to prevent physical and emotional abuse of children in Indonesia: The Families First Programme. BMJ Open, 9(1), e021751. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2018-021751

• Nazif-Muñoz, J I, Nandi, A. and Ruiz-Casares, M. 2018. “Dataset and figures on time-series analysis of child restraint policy impact in Chile.” Data in Brief, 21, 2290-2315 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2018.11.079

• Ruiz-Casares, M., Nazif-Muñoz, J.I., Iwo, R., & Oulhote, Y. (2018). Nonadult Supervision of Children in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Results from 61 National Population-Based Surveys. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15, 1564.

• Nazif-Muñoz, J.I., Nandi, A.,& Ruiz-Casares, M. (2018). Protecting only white children: the case of child restraint legislation in Brazil. Journal of Public Health, 41(2), 287–295. doi:10.1093/pubmed/fdy105 †

• Ruiz-Casares, M. & Nazif-Muñoz, J. I. (2018). Non-adult child supervision practices in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Child Abuse & Neglect 84, 217-228.

• Nazif-Muñoz, J.I., Nandi, A., & Ruiz-Casares, M. (2018). Impact of Child Restraint Policies on Child Occupant Fatalities and Injuries in Chile and its Regions: A Time–Series Study. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 120, 28-45. †

• Miconi, D, Beeman, I, Robert, E., Beatson, J., and Ruiz-Casares, M. (2018). Child Supervision in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Scoping Review. Children and Youth Services Review, 89, 226-242. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.04.040 †

• Robert, E., Merry, L., Benoît, M., Guimaraes, D. B., & Ruiz-Casares, M. (2018). Rien ne doit se faire pour eux sans eux : renforcer la participation des demandeurs d'asile, réfugiés et migrants sans statut et des organismes communautaires dans la recherche en santé. Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique, 109(3), 312-315. doi:10.17269/s41997-018-0042-9 †

• Gentz, S., Calonge Romano. I., Martínez Arias, R., and Ruiz-Casares, M. (2018) Mental Health Among Adolescents Living With HIV in Namibia: the Role of Poverty, Orphanhood and Social Support. AIDS Care, 30(sup2), 83-91. doi:10.1080/09540121.2018.1469727 †

• Gentz, S., Calonge Romano, I., Martínez-Arias, R., & Ruiz-Casares, M. (2017). Predictors of Mental Health Problems in Adolescents Living with HIV in Namibia. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 22(4), 179-185. doi:10.1111/camh.12247. †

• Ruiz-Casares, M., Steele, R., Bangura, R., and Oyat, G. (2017) Preventing Parent-Child Separation: Myths and Facts from a KAP Survey in Central and Western Liberia. Global Social Welfare, 4(4), 219-231.doi:10.1007/s40609-017-0090-8

• Rousseau C, Oulhote Y, Ruiz-Casares M, Cleveland J, Greenaway C (2017) Encouraging understanding or increasing prejudices: A cross-sectional survey of institutional influence on health personnel attitudes about refugee claimants' access to health care. PLoS ONE 12(2): e0170910. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0170910

• Ruiz-Casares, M., Collins, T. M., Tisdall, E. K. M., & Grover, S. (2017). Children’s rights to participation and protection in international development and humanitarian interventions: nurturing a dialogue. The International Journal of Human Rights, 21(1), 1-13. doi: 10.1080/13642987.2016.1262520

Book chapters:

• Ruiz-Casares, M. (2024). Children without parental care in armed conflict settings: the right to family life and alternative care arrangements. In Denov, M. & Fennig, M. (Eds), Research Handbook of Children and Conflict, p. 232-252. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN: 978 1 83910 480 0
• Lacharité, C., Ruiz-Casares, M., & Martin, F. (2022). Indicateurs de qualité de l’accompagnement des familles dans les situations de négligence envers l’enfant. In Séraphin, G. (Ed), Qualité de l’accompagnement en protection de l’enfance : Établir des indicateurs, p. 101-118. Paris : L’Harmattan. ISBN : 978-2-14-030096-7

• Ruiz-Casares, M. (2021). The Participatory Photography Assessment Tool (P-PAT). In Jamieson, L., Feinstein, C., Kapell, A., & Dulieu, N. (2021). Working together: Including children in research on violence against children. A resource pack for research practitioners. Edinburgh: End Violence Partnership Knowledge Network, End Violence Lab and Save the Children. p 97-98.
• Ruiz-Casares, M. (2020). Child-Headed Households. SAGE Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood Studies, 1, 296-298. Daniel Thomas Cook (Ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. ISBN: 9781473942929
• Ruiz-Casares, M. & Oates, J. (2018). Informed Consent. The Sage Encyclopedia of Lifespan Human Development. Marc H. Bornstein (Ed.) ISBN: 9781506307657.
• Ruiz-Casares, M., Gentz, S., & Beatson, J. (2018). Children as Providers and Recipients of Support: Redefining Parenting Among Child-Headed Households in Namibia. In Maria Rosario T. de Guzman, Jill Brown, Carolyn Pope Edwards (Eds.) “Parenting From Afar: The Reconfiguration of the Family Across Distance.” Oxford University Press.
• Ruiz-Casares, M. (2018). Children On The Move: Facilitating and Valuing Children’s Contributions through Research. In CRAN 9th Annual Meeting [Report]. Ottawa, ON: Landon Pearson Resource Centre for the Study of Childhood and Children’s Rights, Carleton University.