CURTIS JOHNSON

Leroy "Curtis" Johnson is an Assistant Professor (Clinical) in the College of Social Work at The University of Utah. As a faculty member, he teaches undergraduate and graduate field practicum courses. Curtis earned a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences in Criminal Justice Studies with a minor in Spanish from Kent State University. Before pursuing his graduate degree in social work, he worked in the Commonwealth of Virginia, serving children, youth, and families. Curtis earned a Master of Social Work degree from Howard University with a concentration in criminal justice. While attending Howard University, Curtis participated in an MSW fellowship program at the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, working with terminally ill cancer patients. 

Curtis' post-graduate professional experiences consist of clinical direct social work practice in child welfare, criminal justice, mental health, and serving in academia. He has since had an extensive career nationally as a social work practitioner and professor. Curtis served in the District of Columbia, Maryland, the Commonwealth of Virginia, Ohio, and California. Curtis has taught at multiple colleges and universities, both public and private. Curtis' primary areas of research include child welfare, criminal justice, and mental health.

Curtis is an accomplished practitioner and professor with over thirty-seven years of experience in child welfare, criminal justice, and mental health settings. Curtis' expertise includes integrating the application of research, theory, and policy to practice into the classroom setting. He is proficient and advanced in teaching courses across all modalities, face-to-face on-campus and online. Curtis has served as a training consultant for the Ohio Child Welfare Training Program, educating prospective foster, adoption, and kinship caregivers, and is currently a trainer with the San Diego State University, School of Social Work- Academy for Professional Excellence, known as Child Welfare Development Services (CWDS), training newly hired frontline social workers.