Gerald P. Mallon

Gerald P. Mallon is an American writer, scholar, loving father of Frida and Bruno, and social worker who focuses on LGBTQ family issues. He is currently the Julia Lathrop Professor of Child Welfare and Associate Dean of Scholarship and Research at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College, City University of New York. He is also the Director of the National Center for Child Welfare Excellence and an adoptive parent. Mallon is an internationally recognized expert on LGBT children, youth, and family issues particularly as they relate to child welfare. Through his writing, advocacy, and training efforts, he has influenced major changes in policy and practice concerning LGBTQ youth within the child welfare system.

Mallon received a BSW from Dominican College in Blauvelt, New York in 1979. In 1980, he graduated from Fordham University with a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree. Mallon received his Doctorate in social work (DSW) from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in 1994.

Mallon is the author of the book, We Don’t Exactly Get the Welcome Wagon: The Experience of Gay and Lesbian Youth in Child Welfare Settings (1998), which was the first systematic investigation providing empirical data on LGBTQ youth in foster care. His more recent books and edited volumes include Social Work Practice with LGBTQ People (2008); Social Work Practice with Transgender and Gender Variant Youth (2009); Child Welfare for the Twenty-First Century, Second Edition (co-edited with Peg McCartt Hess, 2015); and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Foster & Adoptive Parents: Recruiting, Assessing, and Supporting Untapped Family Resources for Children and Youth (2015). These works have made a significant impact on the study of child welfare and LGBTQ children, youth, and families. He is the author of 24 books in total along with over 100 articles, chapters, and papers.

In 2014, Mallon was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare. That same year, he received the New York State Citizens Coalition for Children Award and the Family Equality Council's Holstetter-Habib Award.

In 2012, Mallon was given the Louisiana Adoption Advisory Board's Award of Distinction.

In 2011, Mallon received The Judge Richard Ware Award from the Louisiana Children’s Trust Fund as well as the Family Focus Adoption Agency's Child Welfare Advocate Award.

Mallon's publications have also earned distinctions. He received the Academic Book of the Year award from the American Library Association in 2006 and 1999; was nominated for the Lambda Literary Award in 2010; and was nominated for the American Library Association's Gay and Lesbian Book of the Year award in 1999.