Gary S. Cuddeback
Email: cuddebackg@vcu.edu
Phone: (804) 828-7166
Pronouns: He/him
Gary Cuddeback, Ph.D., M.S.W., M.P.H., was named the VCU School of Social Work dean Oct. 28, 2024. He previously served as interim dean beginning July 1, 2023. He joined the VCU faculty in 2021 as associate dean for research and professor.
He was previously at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was the Berg-Beach Distinguished Professor of Community Social Work at the School of Social Work, a faculty research fellow at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, and a research professor with the Department of Psychiatry.
At VCU he also began serving as interim associate dean for faculty affairs in May 2022.
He has been involved in dozens of projects focused on individuals with severe mental illnesses, especially those individuals who are involved with criminal justice system, and has published papers about the physical health needs of justice-involved individuals with severe mental illnesses; the prevalence of individuals with mental illnesses in prison; the role of Medicaid on mental health service use and recidivism after jail release; the characteristics of individuals with mental illnesses who are incarcerated in jails versus prisons; and adaptations of evidence-based practices for justice-involved individuals with severe mental illnesses.
Areas of expertise
- Individuals Living with Severe Mental Illnesses
- Mental Health Services Research
- Mental Health and Criminal Justice Involvement
- Evidence-Based Interventions
Education and credentials
Ph.D. University of Tennessee, Knoxville
M.P.H., University of South Florida
M.S.W., University of South Florida
B.A., Furman University
Work
Selected publications
Tomar, N., Ghezzi, M., Wilson, A. B., & Cuddeback, G. S. (2020). Demographic and clinical characteristics of consumers who transition from assertive community treatment to less intensive services. Social Work in Mental Health, 18(4), 398-409.
Longmate, C., Lowder, E., Givens, A., Van Deinse, T. B., Ghezzi, M., Burgin, S., & Cuddeback, G. S. (2021). Social support among people with mental illnesses on probation. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 44(1), 70-76.
Cuddeback, G. S., Simpson, J., & *Wu, J. (2020). A comprehensive literature review of forensic assertive community treatment (FACT): directions for practice, policy and research. International Journal of Mental Health, 49(2), 106-127.
Tomar, N., Brinkley-Rubinstein, L., Ghezzi, M. A., Van Deinse, T. B., Burgin, S. E., & Cuddeback, G. S. (2020). Internalized stigma among probationers with serious mental illnesses. International Journal of Mental Health, 49(2), 201-211.
Van Deinse, T. B., Bunger, A., Burgin, S. E., Wilson, A. B., & Cuddeback, G. S. (2020). Using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to examine implementation determinants of specialty mental health probation. Health & Justice, 7(17), 1-12.
Professional highlights
Research projects and funding
- Re-assessing the Reliability and Validity of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety’s Risk and Needs Assessment for Offenders. North Carolina Department of Public Safety. Principal investigator. Amount: $149,443 (2020-2022).
- Reducing recidivism and improving outcomes among probationers with mental illnesses: combining mental health probation with supported employment. Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice – Award No. 2019-MO-BX-0022. Principal investigator. Amount: $740,693 (2019-2022).
- North Carolina Victims of Crime Needs Assessment. North Carolina Governor’s Crime Commission. Co-investigator (Van Deinse, PI). Amount: $268,317 (2021-2022).
- Establishing the Current State of Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Implementation in the U.S. Laura and John Arnold Foundation. Co-investigator (Moser, PI). Amount: $479,388 (2019-2023).
- HomeLink: Services and housing stability for justice-involved persons with serious and persistent mental illnesses. Grant Number 1H79SM080750, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Evaluator (Mahadevin, PI). Amount: $2,500,000 (2018-2023).
- Innovative Models for Serving Homeless Individuals with Severe Mental Illnesses. University of California – Los Angeles. Principal investigator. Amount: $88,497 (2019-2022).