Latrice Rollins is currently a doctoral candidate and graduate research assistant at the University of Georgia School of Social Work. She graduated from Spelman College in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology. Latrice began her career as a child support enforcement and legal agent for the State of Georgia Office of Child Support Services. Latrice worked with fathers, whose children currently or formerly received public assistance, to help them understand the child support system and meet their child support obligations. Most of the fathers whose children received assistance were in no better position economically or socially than the mothers of their children. Yet, there were few to no services available to help.

Upon recognizing the dire need for resources and advocacy for fathers, Latrice decided to enroll in the University of Georgia Master of Social Work program that focused on preparing students to address the needs of vulnerable populations, ameliorate the conditions of those living in poverty, and create change through social justice. Latrice was subsequently hired to work as community resource specialist for the Georgia Fatherhood Program because of her knowledge of the child support system and her passion to help low-income fathers become financially, emotionally, and physically involved with their children. She developed partnerships with state and local organizations to provide resources to fatherhood program participants and drastically increased the numbers of fathers served by the Fatherhood programs in her areas.

The exposure to the Fatherhood movement and the status of fathers in families globally inspired Latrice to pursue a doctoral degree to become equipped with the research and evaluation skills necessary to promote father involvement through evidence-based practice, empirical research, and policy analysis. Her current dissertation research demonstrates Latrice’s commitment to improve services to fathers. The research focuses on the professional experiences of African American women that provide social services to fathers and offers recommendations to engage more fathers in services, particularly when women are the predominate helping professionals. Latrice has presented her research on men and fatherhood at several national and regional professional conferences. She has also conducted research and has publications with colleagues in other areas including: men’s health, children’s mental health, and evidenced-based practice. She has provided her expertise in research, evaluation, and policy to the University and several nonprofit and community-based organizations by writing policy briefs, developing grant proposals, and conducting research.