She conducts research on factors that place children at risk for poor social and emotional outcomes, and designs and evaluates interventions for these high risk children and families. Her specific areas of focus include children and families impacted by maternal substance use, depression and traumatic events such as abuse or neglect and she has published widely in these areas. She also focuses on designing and evaluating interventions in early care and education settings to support teachers and parents and build social and emotional skills in young children. In addition to her role on the TIPS team, she directs an Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation program in Arkansas, called Project PLAY as well as a teacher training and coaching program, called REACH.