Staff

Helen Jacobsen

Project Associate

Contact Information

Helen Jacobsen is a Project Associate at Chapin Hall. Jacobsen offers support to a team of research and policy leaders focused on improving outcomes for children and families. She provides project coordination and research support on multiple Illinois Department of Children and Family Services child welfare evaluation and implementation projects. This includes collecting and analyzing data, assisting with literature reviews, and contributing to the preparation of reports and the development of project web pages.

Jacobsen has extensive evaluation experience across child and family serving programs, including home visiting, home-based childcare, family literacy, and early childhood education.  As a member of a collaborative evaluation team, she conducted interviews, observed program services, reviewed program materials and case files, prepared feedback reports, and shared evaluation findings with programs. Jacobsen has assisted in the development of different assessment tools used in program evaluation. Prior to evaluating programs, she worked in a community-based family literacy program as an early childhood specialist and then program coordinator. In this and other direct service roles, Jacobsen recognized the significance of high-quality, family-centered, strengths-based services in supporting positive outcomes for children and families.

Jacobsen earned her Master of Education in Early Childhood Development from the Erikson Institute. She also received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Denver.

Master of Education in Early Childhood Development, Erikson Institute

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, University of Denver

Key Work

Key Work

Project
Supporting and Evaluating Illinois DCFS Wraparound
Chapin Hall is partnering with DCFS to provide implementation support and evaluate Community-Based High-Fidelity Wraparound.
February 27, 2024
Project
Enrolling More Illinois Child Welfare System-Involved Children in Early Care and Education
Chapin Hall is one of eight grantees selected to address systemic barriers to early childhood enrollment.
November 30, 2023
Report
Evaluation Yields Mixed Results Regarding LifeSet’s Impact on Young People in Extended Foster Care
This report summarizes findings from Phase II of an evaluation of LifeSet, which helps young people in foster care successfully transition to adulthood.
2023
Research
Lessons from the Evaluation of the Therapeutic Foster Care Pilot in Illinois
This report includes findings from a multifaceted evaluation of the Illinois DCFS implementation of a 5-year pilot program of Therapeutic Foster Care.
2023
Report
Youth Participants Give High Marks to LifeSet Program in Illinois
This brief examines the ways LifeSet is and is not supporting the transition from foster care to adulthood for 13 young people.
2023
Report
LifeSet Providers Identify Model Strengths and Implementation Challenges
This brief summarizes findings from Phase I of an evaluation of LifeSet, an intensive, evidence-based, youth-centered, and service-focused model developed by...
2022
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