Dr. Jennifer (Jenny) Tanis’s teaching and research focus on child welfare, family well-being and the role of economic social policy in preventing child maltreatment. She teaches courses such as Introduction to Social Welfare, Child Welfare and Contemporary Social Policy.

Before joining the Hope faculty in 2022, Dr. Tanis spent more than a decade in child welfare practice, working directly with children and families in adoption, residential and child protection settings. These experiences deeply inform her teaching; she strives to connect policy with lived experience and help students see how social work can be both a personal calling and a tool for social change. Her current research explores how social and economic policies (such as paid family and medical leave) shape family stability and well-being. 

Dr. Tanis is a co-advisor (with Dr. Shannon Shen) for the student-run Sociology and Social Work Organization (SWORG). She is licensed as a clinical social worker in Michigan, and holds specialized certifications in child death scene investigation, forensic interviews of children and trauma-informed yoga. 

AREAS OF Expertise

• Child welfare and maltreatment prevention 
• Family and economic social policy
• Maternal and child health
• Reproductive justice

EDUCATION

• Ph.D., social work, Michigan State University, 2024
• MSW, Grand Valley State University, 2014
• B.A., family and community services, child development (minor), Michigan State University, 2009

HONORS And Grants

• Outstanding Paper Award for  “State Paid Family Leave Policies and Infant Maltreatment” (with S. M. Klein and H. Boyke), National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect, 2025
• “COVID-19 Relief & Family Well-Being: Understanding Family Interactions with Economic Policies,” Jacob E. Nyenhuis Faculty Development Grant, Hope College, 2025

Selected Publications and Presentations

• “Paid Family Leave and Infant Maltreatment Risk: A Scoping Review of Socioecological Factors,” with R. Yurschak, Families in Society, 2025
• “Understanding the Effect of State Paid Family Leave Policy on Family Functioning,” panel presentation with S. Klein, C. Osborne and E. Thibodeau at the Society for Research on Child Development Biennial Meeting, 2025
• “State Paid Family Leave Policies and Infant Maltreatment,” with S. M. Klein and H. Boyke, Child Abuse and Neglect, 2024
• “Stepping into the Wilderness: A Field Guide for New Social Workers,” Clinical Journal of Social Work, 2023
• “Protecting America’s Children: Paid Family Leave’s Effect on Infant Abuse and Neglect,” presentation with S. M. Klein at the National Research Conference on Early Childhood, 2022

Outside the College

Dr. Tanis lives in downtown Grand Rapids with her husband, Mike, and their son. Together, they love exploring the outdoors and have a family goal of visiting a new national park every year. (So far, Zion and Acadia top the charts!) She serves on the board of directors of the Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center and enjoys gardening and reading historical fiction ain her free time.