Dr. Ronald C. Hughes has been a thought leader in the child welfare/child maltreatment practice field for more than 4 decades. In 1977, he co-founded the Institute for Human Services (IHS) in Columbus, Ohio, with a mission to improve child welfare practice through large-scale capacity building and change efforts in the systems and organizations that serve maltreated children and their families. Ron has been the Executive Director of IHS since its inception.

 

He is also the founder and Executive Director of the Child Maltreatment Policy Resource Center, with a mission of applying research and standards of best practice to promote cogent public policy that serves the best interests of maltreated children and their families.

Dr. Hughes is a widely published author on a variety of topics and controversial issues in the field of child abuse and neglect.  He is co-author of the four-volume Field Guide to Child Welfare, historically the most widely used textbook in the child welfare profession.  He has authored policy white papers on topics such as risk assessment and differential response, and articles and book chapters on a variety of child welfare practice issues.  He is a primary architect of the Comprehensive, Competency-Based Inservice Training model of child welfare training, which has been adopted by a majority of states and provinces in North America as the foundation of their child welfare in-service training systems.  Dr. Hughes also provides consultation and technical assistance to state, provincial, and local governmental and non-governmental child maltreatment organizations.  In 2011-2013 he served as a member of the Civil Society Committee of the U.S. – Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission and was instrumental in planning and hosting three Russian-American Forums for Child Welfare Practice.
 
Dr. Hughes has been a member of the Board of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children since 2008, was Board President from 2010-2012 and is currently President Emeritus.  He has served on the Board of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) since 2010 and was Board Chair from 2016-2018.   Dr. Hughes previously served as Editor-in-Chief of the APSAC Advisor.

 

Ron has received numerous commendations and awards for his work, among them: the Ron Laney Distinguished Service Award from the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC), 2018; elected to the Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame from Case Western University, 2016; the Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Wooster Alumni Association, 2012; the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ohio Psychological Association, 2009; the Dan Schneider Award for Leadership in Child Welfare Training in 2008; the Peter Forsythe Award for Leadership in Public Child Welfare from the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), 2005; Quality in Training awards from the National Staff Development and Training Association in 2004 and 1998; and a Leadership in Child Welfare Award from the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, 1996.

Ron is a scientist at heart. His first love was astronomy, expressed by drawing the solar system on his bedroom wall at age 6.  From there, his interests expanded into philosophy, evolutionary theory, prehistory, and the physical sciences.  He also loves classic cars.
 
 
Education
 
Doctorate in Developmental Psychology from The Ohio State University
Master’s of Science in Social Administration from Case Western Reserve University
Bachelor’s of Arts Degrees in Philosophy and Political Science. 
 
Licensing
 
He is a licensed psychologist and a licensed independent social worker.