Jessica Pryce

As an Assistant Professor in the College of Social Work at Florida State University and the Executive Director of The Florida Institute for Child Welfare, her foremost responsibility is providing evidence-informed recommendations to Florida’s legislative policymakers. Dr. Pryce was a child welfare caseworker, investigating child maltreatment in Florida, before pursuing her doctorate degree. Having experience at multiple levels of child welfare (direct practice, policy analysis, child advocacy, program administration, teaching, and research), her perspective is unique.

Dr. Pryce has the ability to convey her ideas and research to any audience and considers each experience as a learning exchange. She is a reflexive listener and transformative leader. She has maintained a commitment to the wellbeing of children and families, as well as, the sustainability of the workforce. Currently, Dr. Pryce is working to address racial disproportionality within child welfare and adjacent child protective decision-making disparities. She is actively engaged in creating an effective and ethical system of care for all at-risk and proven-risk families.

Dr. Pryce has spoken nationally and internationally on various topics relating to child welfare, workforce development, and human service leadership enhancement. She also presented a TED Talk in May 2018 on implicit bias and disparity within child welfare.