Naomi Sutton Reddish

Director of Child Welfare Initiatives

Unit:Child and Family Well-Being

Email: nrreddish@vcu.edu
Phone: (804) 828-0408
Pronouns: She/her

Naomi Reddish, M.S.W., is the director of Child Welfare Initiatives and assistant professor at the VCU School of Social Work. She oversees the Title IV-E Child Welfare Stipend Program (CWSP); manages the Consortium for Resource, Adoptive, and Family Training (CRAFFT/MFA) project at VCU; and is a collaborator on the Child Welfare and Addictions Fellowship training program.

Her practice experience is in public child welfare in the Commonwealth of Virginia, she is an experienced forensic interviewer and is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT). Reddish is particularly interested in preparing social work practitioners to engage and partner with families and support children in change processes in response to and prevention of child maltreatment.

Reddish’s vision for her current work is to facilitate the education and training of caring, competent and innovative child welfare practitioners and resource families in the commonwealth of Virginia. Reddish believes this work centers on connection. She believes these child welfare initiatives are important in increasing the education and retention of local child welfare workers and resource families in the commonwealth of Virginia.

Prior to her faculty appointment, Reddish worked in direct social work practice in public child welfare in local Departments of Social Services in Virginia. She also worked as a field liaison for the VCU SSW. She is a trained forensic interviewer and has worked in this role with Greater Richmond SCAN Child Advocacy Center and local multidisciplinary teams. She is also trained to facilitate Family Partnership Meetings, Nurturing Parenting programs and Motivational Interviewing (MI) training.

In these roles, Reddish worked collaboratively with families, community systems, and government, private and other mandated child welfare programs. She trained community partners, helped to guide M.S.W. interns in fieldwork and worked with her teams to implement more trauma-informed care practices in their work. She has experience working on Local DSS strategic planning teams and has been a member of the Greater Richmond Trauma-Informed Community Network.

Reddish received a Master of Social Work from VCU, and during her graduate work, she was a Title IV-E stipend recipient and a participant in the Child Welfare Education and Support Program. Reddish joined the VCU SSW team in a faculty role in 2017 and continues to teach and facilitate learning opportunities for future child welfare professionals and leaders as they prepare to serve and partner with our communities’ children and families.

She is grateful to have the opportunity to work with the SSW to invest time, energy and resources into equipping future social workers and resource families to partner with families to achieve their goals for child safety, permanent connections and well-being.

When she is not working in her administrative roles, facilitating learning opportunities and engaging with community partners, Naomi enjoys spending time with her family, sharing coffee with a friend and being active outside.

Learn more about the Child Welfare Stipend Program at VCU and the Consortium for Resource, Adoptive, and Foster Family Training (CRAFFT/MFA).

Areas of expertise

Child Welfare Policies and Practices
Social Work Practice
Family
Field Education
Trauma-Informed Care
Motivational Interviewing
Macro Practice
Child Abuse and Neglect

Education and credentials

M.S.W., Virginia Commonwealth University
B.A., Virginia Commonwealth University

Work

Selected publications

Reiss, D. M., Perry, M. A., Gomez, R. J., Tomlinson, C., & Reddish, N. (2025). Exploring the Role of Independent Living Workers in How Youth in Care Access and Utilize Technology. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-025-01018-w

Sage, T., Sage, M., & Reddish, N. (2024). Trauma-informed Motivational Interviewing as a Child Welfare Family Engagement Intervention. In P. Day & K. Briar-Lawson (Eds.), Child Neglect, Inequity, & Poverty: Practice Innovations, Concrete Resources, and Justice, Vol. II (pp. 209–232). CWLA Press.

Gomez, R., Tomlinson, C., Reddish, N., & Reiss, D. (2024). Beyond connectivity: Exploring the influence of digital access on the Social Determinants of Health for youth in out-of-home care. Health & Social Work. Vol. 50, Issue 1, Pages 27 - 36, https://doi.org/10.1093/hsw/hlae039

Role: Faculty

Professional highlights

Selected presentations

Tomlinson, C.A., Parker, C., & Reddish, N. (2026, May). Where are Alumni now? Findings from a Longitudinal Evaluation of Virginia’s Title IV-E Stipend Program. Workshop at the National Title IV-E Roundtable, Denver, CO.

Kim, K. N., Francis. M., Reddish, N., Long, A., Van de Riet, K., Gomez, R. & Chartier, K. G. (2026, January). Strengthening competence for working with families affected by addiction: A preliminary assessment of a fellowship for child welfare professionals. Poster at the Society for Social Work and Research annual conference, Washington, DC.

Francis, M., Kim, K., Chartier, K., Reddish, N., Long, A., Van de Riet, K., & Gomez, R. (2025, October). Building knowledge, building connections: How Child Welfare Addiction Fellows are changing practice and outcomes. Presentation at the annual conference of the Council on Social Work Education, Denver, CO.

Chartier, K., Kim, K., Francis, M., Reddish, N., Long, A., Van de Riet, K., & Gomez, R. (2025, June). Equipping social workers on the frontline: Implementation of an innovative training program in addictions for child welfare professionals. Poster at the annual scientific meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, New Orleans, LA.

Reddish, N. S., Durham, R., Long, A., Thornton, E., & Cornejo, K. (Presentation - 2025, May 20 - 22). High-impact practices through the lens of collaboration; testimonies and reflections from community partners and alumni. Interactive workshop, National Title IV-E Roundtable for Child Welfare Training and Education; Tuscaloosa, AL, United States.

Reddish, N. S., Durham, R., & Long, A. (presenters) Thornton, E., & Cornejo, K. (collaborators) (2024, May 21 - 23). Systems transformation: Supporting each other, students, new workers, and agencies in our everyday work while inspiring change! Interactive workshop, National Title IV-E Roundtable for Child Welfare Training and Education; Burlington, VT, United States.

Gomez, R., Matijczak, A., Tomlinson, C.A., & Reddish, N. (2024, April 4 - 7). Leveraging Technology: Exploring the Use of Technology by Children in Foster Care as a Model for International Child Welfare. Oral presentation invitation for the Joint Conference on Social Work Education and Social Development, Panama City, Panama.

Matijczak, A., Tomlinson, C.A., Reddish, N., & Gomez, R. (2024, January 10 - 14). Technology Use Among Youth in Foster Care: Differences Based on Caregiver Characteristics. Oral presentation invitation for the Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, Washington, DC, United States.

Funded projects

2017-Present – Child Welfare Stipend Program. Grant-funded project to administer the Title IV-E Child Welfare Stipend Program (CWSP) at VCU. Virginia Department of Social Services. (Cuddeback, Gary, PI).

2022-Present – Administrator and PI (2023), Consortium for Resource, Adoptive and Foster Family Training–CRAFFT. Funded project to administer resource, adoptive and foster family training in the central and northern regions of Virginia. Virginia Department of Social Services VA Department of Social Services.

Selected online resources

Teaching areas and interests

Child Welfare Practice
Family Engagement
Field Education
Motivational Interviewing
Prevention and Investigation of Child Maltreatment

Courses taught

SLWK 791: Motivational Interviewing (3 credits)
SLWK 718: Social Work Practice in Child Welfare (3 credits)
SLWK 710: Concentration Social Policy in Child Welfare (3 credits)
SLWK 793/794/795: MSW Specialization Field Instruction I & II (6 credits)
SLWK 693/694: MSW Generalist Field Instruction I & II (6 credits)
SLWK 493/494: BSW Senior Field Instruction I & II (6 credits)
SLWK 393: BSW Junior Field Instruction (3 credits)

Accomplishments

Increased capacity of the Child Welfare Stipend Program at VCU from 10 students up to 29 students annually from 2017-present.
Supported the education and facilitated the employment of 100 + social work graduates in child welfare practice at local departments of social service in Virginia since 2018.

Affiliations and service

Community trainings and workshops

Developmental Disability and Child Welfare: What Do You Need to Know?
Fostering Truth: A Conversation About Best Practices in Working with and Engaging Youth in Foster Care who Identify as LGBTQ+
Systemic Racism and Equity in Child Welfare: The Role of Social Work Education in Perpetuating and Challenging Inequities
Systemic Racism, Disproportionality, and Equity in Child Welfare: Our History and Where to Focus Our Change Efforts?
Collaborated on multiple workshops for CWSP students and community partners on Family Engagement, Trauma Informed Motivational Interviewing, Reimagining an antiracist child welfare system, employment in public child welfare, child welfare case simulation, etc.

School of Social Work