Dr. Cheryl Fergerson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a specialization in pediatric medical social work and child welfare.
Research Interests
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
- Adults with cognitive disabilities involved with the child welfare system
- Pediatric hospice and palliative care
- Psychosocial supports and resources
Biography
Dr. Cheryl Fergerson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with specializations in pediatric medical social work. Before shifting her career to medical social work and assessing families headed by parents with disabilities, Dr. Fergerson spent more than 14 years in child welfare practice. Dr. Fergerson’s doctoral dissertation is entitled "ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and Self‐care: An Examination of Child Protective Services Investigators." She is a co-author for an anthology published in 2021 entitled Sistah Hooded: Stories of Strength and Resilience on the Doctoral Journey to encourage women of color as they consider entering or continuing work to complete higher education degrees. She continues to engage in direct practice as an independent contractor providing services for competency based parenting assessment specifically for parents with disabilities that have children placed in the child welfare out of home placements.
Dr. Fergerson is affiliated with the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) as a Practice Analysis Taskforce member, member of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), Association of College and University Educators (ACUE), and a member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
Education
B.S.N Sociology, University of Memphis (1999)
B.A. Sociology, University of Memphis (1999)
M.S.SW Social Work, University of Memphis (2014)
DSW Social Work, Capella University (2019)