Melissa Kull
Senior Researcher
Dr. Melissa Kull is a Senior Researcher at Chapin Hall. Her research aims to improve the human services and educational systems that address family and youth homelessness, particularly in the domains of screening and referral processes. She incorporates mixed methods, measurement, and program evaluation expertise to support projects targeting solutions for ending family and youth homelessness and sustaining partnerships between education, early learning, and housing and homelessness systems. Kull’s training in developmental psychology, education, and public health, as well as experiences in city and state government, position her to conduct research on intractable social problems, evaluate programs that mitigate disparities in youth and family well-being, and advance equitable opportunities for marginalized populations. Currently, Kull is validating two screening tools for risks for homelessness among youth and families. She also leads an evaluation of a youth homelessness and school dropout prevention program, a study of economic abuse and material hardship among families enrolled in home visitation programs, a longitudinal investigation of experiences of housing instability and homelessness among children enrolled in Head Start, and an assessment of drop-in centers for youth experiencing homelessness in New York City. Additionally, she supports research partnerships with the National Runaway Safeline and the Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Center, which includes providing training and technical assistance related to federally funded Runaway and Homeless Youth grantee organizations.
Prior to joining Chapin Hall, Kull was a research scientist at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Under the ThriveNYC public health campaign, Kull worked on three evaluation projects to: 1) expand access and enhance quality of early childhood mental health services; 2) embed mental health prevention and intervention services into NYC schools; and 3) establish a network of mental health consultants connecting children and families to community-based services. This work also included using local survey data to guide dissemination activities on topics of child and youth mental health and examining public health surveillance data to monitor youth mental health concerns. Kull has also conducted research using nationally representative survey and administrative data on child and family housing contexts, family instability, and children’s early education experiences. Additionally, she previously worked on integrated data systems and conducted partnership-based research in Head Start centers in NYC and Philadelphia.
Kull holds a PhD in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology from Boston College, a Master of Science in Education in Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Development from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Science in Applied Psychology from New York University.
PhD in Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology, Boston College
Master of Science in Education in Interdisciplinary Studies in Human Development, University of Pennsylvania
Bachelor of Science in Applied Psychology, New York University
Kull, M. A., Youngren, M., & Stephens, Z. (2023, November). Understanding the needs of young people using drop-in centers in New York City: Preliminary findings. Workshop presented at the Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Center 2023 National Training, Seattle, WA.
Kull, M. A. (2023, October). Trends in mental health among youth and young adults experiencing and at risk for homelessness. Invited presentation to the University of Chicago’s Center for Chronic Disease Research and Policy’s 11th Annual Symposium, Chicago, IL.
Kull, M. A. (2023, April). How school districts can address the needs of students furthest from opportunity. Discussant for symposium accepted for presentation at the American Educational Research Association conference, Chicago, IL.
Dworsky, A., Schlecht, C., Griffin, A., Kull, M. A., Rosenberg, R., & Woods, N. (2023, January). Advocating for adolescent sexual and reproductive health. Webinar presented to the Maryland CASA Association.
Frankel, S., & Kull, M. A. (2022, November). Youth in crisis: What the data is telling us, 2022. Webinar hosted by the Family and Youth Services Bureau and the Administration on Children, Youth and Families to launch National Runaway Prevention Month.
Kull, M. A. (2022, November). Shining a light on the prevention of youth homelessness and runaway incidents: Building meaningful collaboration for action. Presenter on virtual roundtable hosted by the National Runaway Safeline.
Kull, M. A., Coleman, A., & Alexcee, A. (2022, November). Promoting school and community partnerships. Workshop presented at the Runaway and Homeless Youth Training and Technical Assistance Center 2022 National Training (virtual).
Kull, M. A., & Farrell, A. F. (2020, November). Screening for housing instability and homelessness in a sample of families involved in the child welfare system. Paper presented at the National Research Conference on Early Childhood (virtual).
Farrell, A. F., Britner, P., & Kull, M. A. (2019, November). Evaluation implications of targeting very high-risk families for a supportive housing demonstration in child welfare: Evidence from Connecticut. Paper presented at the American Evaluation Association Conference, Minneapolis, MN.
Cunningham, M., Farrell, A. F., Lery, B., Haight, J. M., & Kull, M. A. (2019, August). The role of targeting in measuring efficacy in a supportive housing program. Paper presented at the Children’s Bureau Child Welfare Evaluation Summit, Washington, DC.
Farrell, A. F., Kull, M. A., & Karter, C. (2019, June). Piloting a housing screener for use in early childhood: The role of community partnership in instrument development. Paper presented at the Society for Community Research and Action Biennial Conference, Chicago, IL.
Kull, M. A., & Morton, M. (2018, November). Life or death: High mortality rates of youth experiencing homelessness. Paper presented at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.
Travers, M., Murray, L., & Kull, M. A. (2018, November). Sexual health and risk-taking behaviors among New York City high school students: Variation by sexual orientation and gender identity status. Paper presented at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA.
Whitney, G., Ferguson, M., & Kull, M. (2018, April). Safe and stable housing: Tools and strategies for understanding and addressing the housing needs of Head Start families. Workshop presented at the New England Head Start Association, Falmouth, MA.
Davila, M., Kull, M. A., Yoon, C., & Murray, L. (2017, November). Interpersonal violence and mental health concerns among LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ high school students. Paper presented at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA.
Davila, M., Yoon, C., & Kull, M. A. (2017, November). Effects of history of parental depressive symptoms and treatment on children’s emotional and behavioral health. Paper presented at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA.
Yoon, C., Davila, M., Kull, M. A., Olson, D., & Lim, S. (2017, November). Monitoring suicide and self-harm related emergency department visits among young children, early adolescents, and late adolescents in New York City. Poster presented at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA.
Kull, M. A., McVeigh, K., Davila, M., Riis, J., Velikov, A., Angley, M., & Yoon, C. (2017, April). Domains of environmental risk and socioemotional wellbeing among New York City children. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Austin, TX.
Velikov, A., Hamdi, H., McVeigh, T., Kull, M. A., & Angley, M. (2017, April). Screen time, socioeconomic disparities, and children’s mental health problems. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Austin, TX.
Kull, M. A., Davila, M., Yoon, C., & Mills, C. (2017, February). Mental health and treatment service utilization among New York City’s school-aged children. Paper presented at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Epidemiology Grand Rounds. Long Island City, NY.
Davila, M., Yoon, C., & Kull, M. A. (2017, February). Parental depression and children’s mental health in New York City families. Paper presented at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Epidemiology Grand Rounds. NYC DOHMH, Long Island City, NY.
Kull, M. A., Murray, L., Davila, M., Yoon, C., & van der Mei, W. (2017, February). Harassment, mental health and sources of support among LGBTQ high school students in New York City. Poster presented at the New York City Epidemiology Forum, New York, NY.
Davila, M., Kull, M. A., Yoon, C., & Mills, C. (2017, February). Emotional and behavioral treatment services among New York City school-aged children. Poster presented at the New York City Epidemiology Forum, New York, NY.
Yoon, C., Davila, M., Kull, M. A., Olson, D., van der Mei, W. F., & Lim, S. (2017, February). Trends in suicide and self-harm related emergency department visits among children and youth in New York City. Poster presented at the New York City Epidemiology Forum, New York, NY.
van der Mei, W. F., Olson, D., Lim, S., Yoon, C., Kull, M. A., & Davila, M. (2017, February). A qualitative investigation of pediatric psychiatric emergency department visits in New York City. Poster presented at the New York City Epidemiology Forum, New York, NY.
Olson, D., van der Mei, W. F., Lim, S., Yoon, C., Kull, M. A., & Davila, M. (2017, February). Monitoring mental health related emergency department visits among children and youth in New York City. Poster presented at the New York City Epidemiology Forum, New York, NY.
Olson, D., van der Mei, W. F., Lim, S., Yoon, C., Kull, M. A., & Davila, M. (2016, November). Monitoring mental health related emergency department visits among children and youth in New York City. Paper presented at the International Study for Disease Surveillance Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA.
Coley, R. L., Kull, M. A., & Cook, K. D. (2015, November). Peer effects in pre-k classrooms: Implications for targeted vs. universal pre-k programs. Paper presented at the Association for Public Policy and Management Conference, Miami, FL.
Kull, M. A., & Coley, R. L. (2015, April). Physical health conditions and school readiness in a prospective birth cohort of U.S. children. Paper presented at the Population Association of American Conference, San Diego, CA.
Kull, M. A., Coley, R. L., & Lynch, A. D. (2015, March). Residential instability and child cognitive and behavioral skills: Linearity and timing effects. Paper presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
Kull, M. A., & Coley, R. L. (2015, March). Are associations between early health conditions and pre-academic skills at school entry explained by parental investments? Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
Hawkins, S. S., Kull, M. A., & Baum, C. (2014, December). Tobacco control policies and household expenditures on tobacco products. Poster presented at the Boston College Advancing Research and Scholarship Day, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA.
Kull, M. A., & Coley, R. L. (2014, July). Early physical health problems and school readiness in a prospective birth cohort of U.S. children. Poster presented at the Head Start Research Conference, Washington, DC.
Coley, R. L., Lynch, A. D., & Kull, M. A. (2014, May). Early exposure to environmental chaos and children’s physical and mental health. Paper presented at the Population Association of America Conference, Boston, MA.
Kull, M. A., Coley, R. L., & Lynch, A. D. (2014, May). The roles of instability and housing in low-income families’ residential mobility. Poster presented at the Population Association of America Conference, Boston, MA.
Coley, R. L., Lynch, A. D., & Kull, M. A. (2013, August). Environmental chaos during infancy and long-term cognitive, physical, and psychological health. Poster presented at the American Psychological Association Conference, Honolulu, HI.
Kull, M. A., & Coley, R. L. (2013, May). Linking housing cost burden to child functioning: Examining the role of family investment and stress. Poster presented at the ACF/OPRE Welfare Research Evaluation Conference, Washington, DC.
Kull, M. A., Coley, R. L., Leventhal, T., & Lynch, A. D. (2013, May). Housing profiles and changes in children’s academic, behavioral, and emotional functioning. Poster presented at the Modern Modeling Methods Conference, University of Connecticut, Storrs-Mansfield, CT.
Kull, M. A., Coley, R. L., & Carrano, J. (2013, April). Do bidirectional associations between spanking and children’s emotional and behavioral problems differ across African American and Hispanic families? Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Seattle, WA.
Kull, M. A., & Coley, R. L. (2013, April). Linking housing cost burden to child and youth functioning: Examining the role of family investment and stress in low-income families. Poster presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Seattle, WA.
Kull, M. A., Coley, R. L., & Lynch, A. D. (2013, April). Housing contexts in infancy and early childhood and long-term cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and physical health. Paper presented at the Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Conference, Seattle, WA.
Kull, M. A., & Coley, R. L. (2013, April). Housing costs as investments and sources of stress: Associations with child functioning in low-income families. Poster presented at the Boston College Multidisciplinary Research Day, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA.
40 for 40 Fellowship, Association for Public Policy and Management, 2018
ACF/OPRE Welfare Research Conference Emerging Scholar, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, 2013
Family Research Methodological Studies Award, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2012
Founders’ Day Award, New York University, 2008
Ida Bodman Service Award, New York University, 2008
Dean’s Research Travel Colloquium: Mexico, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University, 2006
Kull, M. A., Griffin, A. G., Alexcee, A., & Farrell, A. (2022, May). Youth mental health and homelessness: Looking upstream for solutions. Social Work Today, 22(2), 16.
Morton, M. H., Edwards, E., & Kull, M. A. (2022). Students experiencing homelessness: A national crisis. Beyond Schools: The Urgency of Reinventing Education Policy in America. New York: Teachers College Press.
Farrell, A. F., & Kull, M. A. (2022). Promoting the general welfare: Family science and family policy. In K. Adamsons, A. L. Few-Demo, C. M. Proulx, & K. Roy (Eds.), Sourcebook of Family Theories and Methods (pp. 579–96). New York: Springer.
Travers, M., Murray, L., & Kull, M. A. (2020). Sexual health and risk-taking behaviors among New York City high school students: Variation by sexual orientation and gender identity. Journal of LGBT Youth.
Coley, R. L., Spielvogel, B., & Kull, M. A. (2019). Concentrated poverty in preschools and children’s cognitive skills: The mediational role of peers and teachers. Journal of School Psychology, 76, 1–16.
Kull, M. A., Dworsky, A., Horwitz, B., & Farrell, A. F. (2019, March). Developmental consequences of homelessness for young parents and children. Zero to Three Journal, 39(4).
Hawkins, S. S., Kull, M. A., & Baum, C. (2018). U.S. state cigarette tax increases and smoke-free legislation in relation to cigarette expenditure across household socioeconomic circumstances: A quasi-experimental study. Addiction, 114(4), 721–729.
Kull, M. A., & Farrell, A. F. (2018, March). Reducing barriers to child care for children experiencing homelessness. Written testimony submitted to the Committee on Children public hearing related to H.B. 5330. Connecticut General Assembly, Hartford, CT.
Olson, D., van der Mei, W., Lim, S., Yoon, C., Kull, M. A., & Davila, M. (2017). Monitoring child mental health related emergency department visits in New York City. Online Journal of Public Health Informatics, 9(1).
Kull, M., Murray, L., Davila, M., Yoon, C., & van der Mei, W. (2017, September). Stressors, mental health, and sources of support among LGBTQ public high school students in New York City. (Epi Data Brief). New York: NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene. Retrieved from http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/epi/databrief93.pdf.
Coley, R. L., & Kull, M. A. (2016). Timing specific versus cumulative residential instability and children’s cognitive and psychosocial skills. Child Development, 87(4), 1204–1220.
Kull, M. A., Coley, R. L., & Lynch, A. D. (2016). The roles of instability and housing in low-income families’ residential mobility. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 37, 422–434.
Coley, R. L., Lynch, A. D., & Kull, M. A. (2016). The effects of chaos in early life on children. (MacArthur Foundation How Housing Matters – Policy Research Brief). Retrieved from https://www.macfound.org/media/files/HHM_Brief_-_The_Effects_of_Housing_Neighborhood_Chaos_on_Children.pdf.
Coley, R., & Kull, M. A. (2016). Is moving during childhood harmful? (MacArthur Foundation How Housing Matters – Policy Research Brief). Retrieved from https://www.macfound.org/media/files/HHM_Brief_-_Is_Moving_During_Childhood_Harmful_2.pdf.
Kull, M. A., & Coley, R. L. (2015). Physical health conditions and school readiness skills in a prospective birth cohort of U.S. children. Social Science & Medicine, 142, 145–153.
Coley, R. L., Lynch, A. D., & Kull, M. A. (2015). Early exposure to environmental chaos and children’s physical and mental health. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 32, 94–104.
Kull, M. A., & Coley, R. L. (2014). Housing costs and child functioning: Processes through investments and financial strains. Children and Youth Service Review, 39, 25–38.
Coley, R. L., Kull, M. A., & Carrano, J. (2014). Parental endorsements of spanking and children’s internalizing and externalizing problems in African American and Hispanic families. Journal of Family Psychology, 28(1), 22–31.
Coley, R. L., Kull, M. A., Leventhal, T., & Lynch, A. D. (2014). Profiles of housing and neighborhood contexts among low-income families: Links with children’s well-being. Cityscape: A Journal of Policy Development and Research, 16(1), 41–64.
Coley, R. L., Leventhal, T., Lynch, A. D., & Kull, M. A. (2013). Relations between housing characteristics and the well-being of low-income children. Developmental Psychology, 49(9), 1775–1789.
Coley, R. L., Leventhal, T., Lynch, A. D., & Kull, M. A. (2013). Poor quality housing is tied to children’s emotional and behavioral problems (MacArthur Foundation How Housing Matters – Policy Research Brief). Retrieved from http://www.macfound.org/media/ files/HHM_Policy_Research_Brief_-_Sept_2013.pdf.
Patel, S. G., & Kull, M. A. (2010). Assessing psychological symptoms in recent immigrant adolescents. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 13(3), 616–619.
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