Maria E. Torres, PhD, MA
Assistant Professor, School of Social Welfare
Email: Maria.E.Torres@stonybrook.edu
EDUCATION
PhD, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, Heller School for Social Policy & Management
MA, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, Heller School of Social Policy & Management
MA, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA
BA, Simmons College, Boston, MA
AREAS OF INTEREST
I am a practice-informed researcher focused on improving the quality of healthcare treatment received by individuals holding marginalized identities. Over the years, my focus has primarily been on racial/ethnic minorities and immigrants. More recently, my work has expanded to include a focus on gender and sexual orientation, looking at the experiences of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) who also identify as non-binary, genderqueer, transgender and/or gay, lesbian, bisexual, or asexual. This multi-layered intersectional approach informs my approach to understanding/evaluating the individual’s experiences in the treatment system.
With the quality of care for BIPOC and queer/trans-POC as my foundation, my scholarship focuses on three inter-related buckets or domains:
1) Cultural competency/Structural competency /DEI work
2) Workforce development and training
3) Systems of care/Impact of State and Federal policy on quality of care
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Torres, M. Maguire, S. & Kogan, J. (In Press). “They told me to think like a middle-aged White woman”: MSW Graduates experiences taking the ASWB Master’s Level Licensing Exam. Social Work
Torres, M., Karpman, H., & Mackie, T. (2023). Redefining culture in the CANS Assessment tool to improve assessment of the social determinants of health. Child Welfare, 100(6), 139-163.
Park, Y., Torres, M., Bhuyan, R., Ao, J., Graves, L., & Rundle, A. (2021). Perceptions of Structural Inequality and Immigrant Threat: Results from a National Survey. Journal of Social Work Education, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2021.1895936
Reif, S., Stewart, M., Torres, M., Davis, M.T., Mohr, B., & Ritter, G. (2021). Effectiveness of value-based purchasing for substance use treatment engagement and retention. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2020.108217
Torres, M., Capistrant, B., & Karpman, H. (2020). The Effect of Medicaid Expansion on Caregiver’s Quality of Life. Social Work in Public Health, 35 (6), 473-482. https://doi.org/10.1080/19371918.2020.1798836
Torres, M., Brolin, M., Panas, L., Ritter, G., Hodgkin, D., Lee, M.... Lane, N. (2020). Evaluating the feasibility and impact of case rate payment for recovery support navigator services. BMC Health Services Research,20(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05861-8
Lee, M., Torres, M., Brolin, M., Ritter, G., Panas, L., Horgan, C.... DeMarco, N. (2020). Impact of Recovery Support Navigators on Continuity of Care After Detoxification. Journal of substance abuse treatment, 112, 10-16., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2020.01.019
Davis, M.T., Torres, M., Stewart, M., Reif, S., Nguyen, A. (2019). Improving quality and performance in substance use treatment programs: What is being done and why is it so hard? Journal of Social Work, https://doi.org/10.1177/1468017319867834
Hodgkin, D., Brolin, M.,Ritter, G., Torres, M., Merrick, E., Horgan, C.… Gewirtz, A. (2019). Cost Savings from a Navigator Intervention for Repeat Detoxification Clients. Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics., 22(1), 3-13. PMID: 30991351.
Stewart, M., Reif, S., Mohr, B., Nguyen, A., Torres, M., Davis, M. T., . . . Horgan, C. (2018). Incentives in a Public Addiction Treatment System: Effects on Waiting Time and Selection. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 95, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2018.09.002
Karpman, H. E., Ruppel, E. H., & Torres, M. (2018). “It wasn’t feasible for us”: Queer women of color navigating family formation. Family Relations, 67(1), 118-131. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12303
RECENT PRESENTATIONS
Friedman, L, Torres, M., and O’Neill, P. Addressing Burnout and Retention of Addiction Treatment Workers Utilizing a Group Peer Support Training Model (November 2023) Presented at the 2023 International Society of Addiction Medicine Conference. Marrakesh, Morocco.
Friedman, L, Torres, M., and O’Neill, P. Addressing Burnout and Retention of Addiction Treatment Workers Utilizing a Group Peer Support Training Model (October 2023) Presented at the 2023 Addiction Health Services Research Conference. New York, NY USA.
Torres, M., Karpman, H., and Mackie, T. Redefining culture in the CANS assessment tool to improve assessment of social determinants of health. (January 2023) Presented at the 2023 Society for Social Work and Research Conference. Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Park, Y., Torres, M., Bhuyan, R., Ao, J.Graves, L., & Rundle, A. Social Worker’s Perceptions of Structural Inequality and Attitudes Towards Immigrants: Implications for Social Work Education.. (January 2020) Presented at the 2020 Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, Washington DC.
Leveraging Secondary Data to Answer Complex Social Work Questions: Caregivers in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Society for Social Work and Research Annual Conference, Washington DC. (January 2020).
· Torres, M., Karpman, H., & Capistrant, B. Did Medicaid Expansion Impact Caregivers' Mental Health Quality of Life?
· Karpman, H., Capistrant, B., & Torres, M. Do Caregivers of Those with Mental Illness Differ by Relationship Race or Relationship to Recipient?
· Capistrant, B., Henning-Smith, C., Karpman, H., & Torres, M. Do U.S. Caregivers’ Mental Health Quality of Life Differ by Rurality?
Torres, M., Karpman, H., Lord, H., Ruseau-Ricupero, N., Sencherey, D., Williams-Flores, X., Townsend, J. & Hallett, S. Research as Activism: Practica Focused on Structural Oppression as a Pedagogical Tool. (October 2019) Presented at the 2019 Council for Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Denver, CO.
Torres, M., Dreschler, K., Howard-Howell, T., Kim, S., King, D., Lopez-Humphreys, M. & Singh, M. Strategies for Emphasizing Diversity and Inclusion In and Throughout the MSW Curriculum. (October 2019) Presented at the 2019 Council for Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Denver, CO.
