LEXINGTON, Ky. — Over three days, more than 300 doctoral candidates in the University of Kentucky’s online Doctor of Social Work (DSW) program will present their capstone research during the 5th Annual Virtual Showcase of DSW Scholars, held April 27–29, 2026. Registration is free and opens April 20.
Among them, Rebecca Moreno will present research exploring how military family separations impact child well-being.
Moreno’s capstone focuses on how parental separation in military families affects children—and identifies practical, evidence-informed strategies to better support their emotional and developmental needs.
“Separations are often narrowly defined as deployment,” Moreno said. “But military families experience many forms of separation—training, demanding schedules, unaccompanied tours—and those experiences add up over time.”
Her work is grounded in both professional and personal experience. Through her role in military mental health, Moreno has seen how frequently children navigate ongoing separations with limited structured support—an experience reflected in her own family as well. These patterns revealed a critical gap between what families face and how systems respond.
“My project focuses on the lack of accessible, coordinated, system-level support for military children,” she said. “These aren’t isolated events—they’re ongoing experiences that affect the entire family system.”
Moreno’s research offers a framework that can be applied across schools, health care systems and military services—strengthening caregiver-child relationships and promoting more consistent, connected care.
At the center of her findings is a key insight: resilience is not inherent—it is built.
“Resilience develops through stable relationships, predictable environments and coordinated systems of care,” Moreno said.
The capstone experience has strengthened her ability to translate research into practice and lead with a trauma-informed, family-centered approach—bridging the gap between clinical work and system-level change.
Following graduation, Moreno plans to continue advancing trauma-informed care within military behavioral health systems, with a focus on family and group-based interventions.
“Military children are often asked to navigate complex and ongoing stressors,” she said. “While we may not be able to eliminate those challenges, we can do a much better job of supporting them—helping them adapt and thrive.”
The Virtual Showcase of DSW Scholars will feature more than 200 presentations and is open to the public, with continuing education credits available for attendees. Registration will open on April 20th. Registration information and showcase news will be shared via email. Those interested in staying informed can subscribe to the College’s email list at https://ukcosw.com/subscribe and select “DSW Showcase and News.”
Note: The perspectives presented in this research are those of the individual scholar and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Kentucky.