Travonne Edwards
Travonne Edwards is a fourth-year PhD candidate in the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work program at the University of Toronto. He holds an advanced diploma in Child and Youth Care (CYC) from Sheridan College, and a bachelor of arts and master of arts in CYC from Toronto Metropolitan University.
Edwards is an experienced critical youth worker with a demonstrated history of working in various social services settings including child welfare and protection, education, and supportive housing for youth experiencing homelessness.
His program of research aims to understand how state systems operate (including child welfare, education and policing), and how Black communities experience them, to one day improve their realities and outcomes. He currently works as project director of a research initiative which partners with the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies’ One Vision One Voice program, which is led by the Black community to address the overrepresentation and disparities faced by Black Canadians in the child welfare system.
Research interests:
- Racial disparities for families in child welfare
- Coping mechanism of Black survivors of homicide violence
- Cannabis usage for youth
- Medication adherance of Black men who have sex with men (BMSM)
- Youth wellness
Research projects:
- Mapping Disparities for Black Families Project
- Ontario Incidence Study
- Resilience Project
- The Real TO
- Cannabis Scoping Review
- Black Survivors of Homicide Violence Coping Strategies Scoping Review
Chapters:
- Edwards, T., & Parada, H. (in press). Black Caribbean youth: Disengaging and resisting school in Ontario, Canada. The Crucible of Modern Education: Lessons from/with Youth in the Americas. Routledge (UK): Taylor & Francis.
- Hasford, J., Amponsah, P., Edwards, T., & Stephen, J. (2020). Anti-Black-racism and child and youth care praxis, in K. Gharabhaghi and G. Charles (Eds.). Child and Youth Care Across Sectors.
Journal articles:
- Edwards, T., Sharpe, T. L., Sibblis, C., McPolland, M., Bonomo, A., & DeVylder, J. (accepted). Civilian perceptions of police: A thematic analysis of non-physical encounters with law enforcement. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment. (external link) http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2022.2106001 (external link) .
- Voisin, D., Edwards, T., Takahashi, L., Valadez-Tapia, S., Shah, H., Oselett, C., Bouacha, N., Dakin, A., & Quinn, K. (2022). COVID-19 and HIV care continuum engagement among young Black men who have sex with men in Chicago. AIDS and Behavior.
- Kourgiantakis, T., Edwards, T., Lee, E., Logan, J., Vicknarajah, R., Craig, S., Simon-Tucker, M. & Williams, C.C. (2022). Cannabis use among youth in Canada: A scoping review protocol. BMJ Open. 12:e061997. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-061997 (external link)
- Edwards, T., King, B., Risidore, J., & Parada, H. (2022). Many households but never a home: Stories of resistance from Black youth navigating placement instability in Ontario’s child welfare system. Journal of Youth Studies, 25(5), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2022.2080539
- Edwards, T., Sharpe, T.L., Bonomo, A., & Massaquoi, N. (2021). Exploring the research on the coping strategies of Black survivors of homicide victims: a scoping review protocol. BMJ Open, 11(11), 1-5. doi:10.1136/ bmjopen-2021-049784
- Mohamud, F., Edwards, T., Anti-Boasiako, K., William, K., King, J., Igor, E., & King, B. (2021). Racial disparity in the Ontario child welfare system: Conceptualizing policies and practices that drive involvement for Black families. Children and Youth Services Review, 120, 105711. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105711 (external link)
- Akuoku-Barfi, C., McDermott, T., Parada, H., & Edwards, T. (2021). "We were in White homes as Black children”: Caribbean youth's stories of out-of-home care in Ontario, Canada. Journal of Progressive Human Services, 32(3), 212-242.
- Edwards, T., Hussain, A., Sato, C., King, J., Sani, M., & King, B (2020). Racial disproportionality and disparities for Black families involved with the child welfare system: a scoping review protocol. Social Science Protocols, 3(2020), 11-12. //doi.org/10.7565/ssp.v3.4949 (external link)
- Edwards, T. (2019). Why are we so Black? A review of the literature on the educational experiences of Black youth in Ontario’s child welfare system. Relational Child and Youth Care Practice, 31(4), 460–479.
- Edwards, T. (2018). Redefining policies: Black youth participation and critical civic praxis. CYC-Online The international Child and Youth Care, 230, 47–55. Retrieved from http://www.cyc-net.org/cyc-online/ apr2018.pdf
- Edwards, T., Gaidhu, A. (2018). Child and Youth Care Praxis: theory to practice or theory vs practice. CYC-Online The international Child and Youth Care Network, 12(2), 380–404.
Technical reports:
- Bonnie, N & Facey, K with support from King, B., Fallon, B., Joh-Carnella, N., Edwards, T., Kagan-Cassidy, M., Black, T., William, K., Patrick-Drakes, V & Anucha, C. (2022). Understanding the Over-Representation of Black Children in Ontario Child Welfare Services. (Ontario Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect-2018). Toronto, ON: Child Welfare Research Portal.
- Anti-Black Racism Task Force. (2021). Report of the University of Toronto Anti-Black Racism Task Force. University of Toronto, 86.
- Hasford, J., Clarke, J., Munroe, T., & Edwards, T. (2019). Evidence of what works to promote mental health among African, Caribbean and Black Canadians through action on institutional discrimination in the education, legal, and child welfare systems: A rapid review [unpublished report]. Public Health Agency of Canada.
The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Fellowship
Title: Exploring the Experiences of Black Families who are Unnecessarily Investigated for Maltreatment in Ontario’s Child Welfare System
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: $40,000
September 2022 – September 2024
Teaching Apprentice Intern Fellowship
Course: Welfare of Children
Funding: $3500
Assistant Professor: Tara Black
Sharon and Larry Enkin Community Leadership Award
Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work
University of Toronto
Funding: $2,500
February 2022
University of Toronto Fellowship
Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work
University of Toronto
Funding: $1,500
February 2022
School of Graduate Studies Conference Grant
School of Graduate Studies
University of Toronto
Funding: $360
December 2021
Royal Bank of Canada Graduate Fellowship in Applied Social Work Research Grant
School of Graduate Studies
University of Toronto
Funding: $10,000
August 2021 - 2022
The Kempe Interdisciplinary Summer Research Institute Scholarship
School of Medicine
University of Colorado
Funding: $200
May 2021
School of Cities Anti-Black Racism Lives Anti-Indigenous Racism Funding Initiative
University of Toronto
Funding: $10,000
January 2020
Richard ‘Dick’ Weiler Scholarship
Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work
University of Toronto
Funding: $2,972
January 2020
School of Graduate Studies Conference Grant
School of Graduate Studies
University of Toronto
Funding: $360
December 2020
University of Toronto International Health Program Community Engagement Project
University of Toronto
Funding: $3,000
November 2020
Royal Bank of Canada Graduate Fellowship in Applied Social Work Research Grant
Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work
University of Toronto
Funding: $10,000
August 2020 - 2021
John (Jack) H. Zimmerman Bursary
Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work
University of Toronto
Funding: $2,500
January 2020
Royal Bank of Canada Graduate Fellowship in Applied Social Work Research Grant
Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work
University of Toronto
Funding: $10,000
August 2019 - 2020
University Of Toronto Fellowship - Faculty Of Social Work
Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work
University of Toronto
Funding: $18,500 per year for 5 years (totaling $92,500)
September 2019 – August 2024
Sheridan Student Union (distinction)
Sheridan College
2011 – 2012