Marlene Matarese, PhD, has 18 years of experience working in child-and family-serving systems, at individual, county, state, and national levels. For the past 13 years, Matarese has been providing training and technical assistance and research on LGBTQI2-S topics, wraparound, systems of care, workforce development, implementation science, youth involvement, and positive youth development. Since 2006, Matarese has been with the University of Maryland where she directs The Institute for Innovation and Implementation’s training and Technical Assistance Center. All of her work is grounded in implementation science and she oversees research and evaluation efforts related to Wraparound implementation occurring nationally and the implementation of multiple evidence-based practice models. Matarese is the principal investigator for National Quality Improvement Center on tailored services, placement stability, and permanency for LGBTQ children and youth in foster care. She is the deputy director for the TA Network for Children’s Behavioral Health and is also the co-director of the National Wraparound Implementation Center and is a clinical assistant professor with the SSW. Matarese is a founding member of the SAMHSA National LGBTQI2-S Workgroup. She has directed the development of both small and large conferences and the design and implementation of an IT platform that includes distance-learning technologies.
Matarese serves as the principal investigator on multiple national contracts including the National Adoption Competency Mental Health Training Initiative and multiple national contracts to provide large scale Wraparound implementation through financing and system design, a cascading approach to training and coaching and research and evaluation. Her prior professional experiences include providing technical assistance nationally on youth leadership and in partnership with a group of young people, and organizing and developing Youth MOVE National. She continues to champion the meaningful inclusion of youth in all levels of system design. Matarese also brings years of experience working directly with youth and their families as a care coordinator, clinician, and case manager for youth involved with child welfare, juvenile justice, and behavioral health systems.
Selected Professional Positions
2016-present | Principal Investigator, National Quality Improvement Center on Tailored Services, Placement Stability and Permanency for LGBTQ Children and Youth in Foster Care
2013-present | Co-Deputy Director, TA Network for Children’s Behavioral Health
2006-present | Training and Technical Assistance Center Director and Clinical Assistant Professor, The Institute for Innovation and Implementation, UMB, School of Social Work, 2011-present
2011-present | Graduate Course Instructor: Care Coordination and Wraparound for Children and Families
2003-2006 | Youth Involvement Specialist/Research Analyst, Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health, American Institutes for Research
2001-2003 | Lead Care Coordinator, Partners for Kids and Families
2000-2001 | Therapist, Catholic Charities Mental Health Center
1999-2000 | Program Coordinator & Personal Counselor, Crossroads Programs, Inc.
Selected Positions, Honors & Committees
Recipient of the Youth MOVE National RockStar Award (2012)
Youth MOVE National established namesake award: Marlene Matarese Advocate for Youth of the Year
Member, LGBTQI2-S SAMHSA workgroup (2005-Present)
Member, LGBT Maryland Youth Round Table (2014-Present)
Member, National Wraparound Initiative (2005-Present)
Selected Presentations, Training, and Teaching
Greeno, E.J., Matarese, M., & Harburger, D. (accepted). Child Welfare Workforce Attitudes, Opinions, and Behaviors Toward LGBTQ Youth. Oral presentation to be presented at the 2016 Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting, Atlanta, Ga.
Matarese, M., Bruns, E., Walker, J., Hensley, S. and Estep, K. (2015, May). The National Wraparound Implementation Center (NWIC): Building Local Capacity in Wraparound Implementation through a Cascading Workforce Development Approach. Global Implementation Conference, Dublin, Ireland.
Matarese, M. (2015, May). Infrastructures and Their Potential as Facilitators for Implementation. Global Implementation Conference, Dublin, Ireland.
Matarese, M. (2011-2015). Meeting the Mental Health and Cultural Needs of LGBTQ Youth in the Youth-Serving Systems Training Series (for staff and clinicians at Catholic Charities and the Johns Hopkins Kennedy Krieger Institute psychology deptartment)
Matarese, M. (2014, July) and (2013, March). Hiring, Inspiring, and Never Tiring: Recruiting, Developing, and Retaining a Quality Wraparound Workforce, 2014 Georgetown Summer Training Institutes and 27th Annual Children’s Mental Health Research and Policy Conference, Tampa, Fla.
Bruns, E., Matarese, M., Zabel, M., and Hust, JoeAnne. (2012, July). Through the Looking Glass: Implementing Wraparound Practice through the Lens of Implementation Science. 2012 Georgetown Training Institutes, Orlando, Fla.
Matarese, M., Damian, V., Gehring, L. (2006, July). Youth Involvement: A Guide for Systems of Care. Developing Local Systems of Care for Children and Adolescents with Emotional Disturbances and Their Families: Family Driven and Youth-Guided Services to Improve Outcomes. Orlando, Fla.
Matarese, M. (2004, November). Shifting to Youth-Guided Systems. Accepted for the Federal National Partnership for the Transformation of Mental Health Meeting in Washington, D.C.
Matarese, M. and Gurley, T. (2004, January). Opening Eyes and Raising Awareness: Supporting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth. Accepted for the System of Care Meeting, San Antonio, Texas
Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications, White Papers, and Selected Reports
Greeno, E.J., Matarese, M., & Harburger, D.S. (2016). Maryland child welfare workforce attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors toward LGBTQ youth. Baltimore, Md: The Institute for Innovation & Implementation, University of Maryland School of Social Work.
Matarese M. (2013). Juvenile Justice Workforce’s Attitudes toward Sexual and Gender Minority Youth: Influence on the Demonstration of Protective and Supportive Behaviors. Dissertation.
Matarese, M. (2012). Improving Outcomes for LGBT Youth in Out-of-Home Care Settings: Implications and Recommendations for Systems of Care. In Ryan, C., Blau, G., and Fisher, S. Eds. LGBT Youth and Supportive Systems of Care. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company, Baltimore, Md.
Walker, J. S. & Matarese, M. (2011). Using a theory of change to drive human resource development for wraparound. Journal of Child and Family Studies, published online.
Bruns, E.J., Walker, J.S., Zabel, M., Estep, K., Matarese, M., Harburger, D., Mosby, P., & Pires, S.A. (2010). The wraparound process as a model for intervening with youth with complex needs and their families. American Journal of Community Psychology, 46.
Matarese, M & Carpenter, M. (2008). Youth involvement & youth-guided systems transformation. In, Stroul, B. & Blau, G. Eds. The System of Care Handbook: Transforming Mental Health Services for Children, Youth, and Families. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company, Baltimore, Md.