Chapin Hall

Chapin Hall Receives APHSA Research and Evaluation Innovation Award

Bryan Samuels (left) and Clare Anderson

Chapin Hall received the Research and Evaluation Innovation Award at the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) National Human Services Summit on June 11 in Arlington, VA. APHSA referred to Chapin Hall’s translational efforts with economic and concrete supports in the preservation of families and prevention of child welfare involvement as “groundbreaking.”

“We are honored to receive this important award,” said Chapin Hall Executive Director Bryan Samuels. “Our dedicated teams that consistently highlight and prove the value of evidence-based programs that incorporate economic and concrete supports are truly centering and championing families in the policy realm every day. We are really proud of this work.”

Economic and concrete supports are money and services provided to families to address issues such as lack of food, healthcare, or housing. Tangible supports like food, housing vouchers, and Medicaid can make all the difference for families. Being unable to meet basic needs can lead to involvement with child welfare systems—consequences that families with resources never have to face.

Many Chapin Hall experts focus on issues related to economic and concrete supports and have created a cadre of tools and briefs that aid those who work in the child welfare field and allow policymakers to understand how effective they are.

“Tying together seemingly disparate research on the impacts of cash and other benefits and services that help families meet their basic needs, Chapin Hall has built a suite of knowledge and tools to empower child welfare agencies to adopt a multi system approach, fostering shared accountability in supporting family well-being,” said Illinois Deputy Governor Grace Ho at the APHSA National Human Services Summit. “This truly amazing work to translate research into practice has changed the national conversation.”

Our comprehensive Economic and Concrete Supports PowerPoint deck—one of the most downloaded Chapin Hall resources—summarizes relevant research on how economic and concrete supports help families and prevent child maltreatment. For example, evidence shows that states that imposed total benefit loss as the most severe sanction for not meeting TANF work requirements from 2004 to 2015 saw a 23.3% increase in substantiated neglect reports; a 13.4% increase in foster care placements due to neglect; and a 12.7% increase in total foster care entries. Other research shows that refundable state-level EITC (averaging $400 per year) is associated with a 13% decrease in hospital admissions for abusive head trauma for children under 2 years old. This resource synthesizes 40 years of research and was developed by Senior Policy Fellow Clare Anderson, Policy Fellow Yasmin Grewal-Kök, Research Fellow Gretchen Cusick, Senior Policy Fellow Dr. Dana Weiner, and Director of Policy Operations Krista Thomas, and is regularly updated. The deck and other economic and concrete supports resources are available here.

Importantly, given the disparities in economic resources and child welfare involvement for families of color, elevating strategies and programs that increase families’ economic resources may reduce some of these disparities and create a more equitable family-serving system. Prioritizing families’ economic and concrete support needs, connecting them to a well-resourced, community-driven prevention system, and preventing child welfare involvement and out-of-home placement with economic and concrete supports alongside evidence-based services when needed can meaningfully address the root causes of adverse experiences, ultimately promoting families’ ability to thrive.

“Chapin Hall’s steadfast dedication to improving outcomes for all children and families is evidenced by their distinguished research and innovative evaluation within human services,” said Aprille Flint-Gerner, child welfare division director at the Oregon Department of Human Services. “With a focus on prevention, family support, and preservation, Chapin Hall plays a pivotal role in shaping programs across the broader system.”