Expert

Xiaomeng Zhou

Senior Researcher

Impact Areas
Contact Information
773-256-5126

Xiaomeng Zhou is a Senior Researcher at Chapin Hall. She applies quantitative research methods to child welfare policy research and evaluation projects. Her current work focuses on building evidence for the child welfare system through rigorous evaluation of intervention programs, developing and implementing performance-based contracting initiatives, and monitoring and evaluating child welfare outcomes in different jurisdictions to inform evidence-based decision making. She has extensive experience in research design, longitudinal data analysis, and program evaluation in the child welfare field.

Prior to joining Chapin Hall, Zhou worked at the UNICEF China office for nearly three years. At UNICEF, she managed national-scale research and pilot projects in the areas of child poverty, social protection, and child protection, where she developed a deep understanding of the practical application of child policies on various communities in China. Before working at UNICEF, Zhou was a researcher at Chapin Hall. She was a key evaluator for a 5-year, federally funded evaluation of the implementation and outcomes of a child representation program in the states of Washington and Georgia. She contributed to a multiyear Australia-New South Wales longitudinal study, leading the development and analyses of foster children’s maltreatment and placement longitudinal data. She also served as a key researcher on the Child Welfare Metrics Project and Research Support for Performance Improvement for the New York State Office of Court Administration, Fiscal Analysis for the Evaluation of Ohio’s Title IV-E Waiver Demonstration Project, and Multistate Foster Care Profile Project funded by Casey Family Programs.

Zhou holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago.

Master of Public Policy, Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago

 

Packard Tucker, L., & Zhou, X. (2022). Administrative data in child welfare evaluations. OPRE Report No. 2022-26. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Zhou, X., Rhodes, E., Huhr, S., Hislop, K., Neumann, N., Wulczyn, F., & Moore, F. (2022). Poverty, admissions to foster care, and admission rate disparities over time. Chicago, IL: Center for State Child Welfare Data, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.

Zhou, X., McClanahan, J., Van Drunen, M., Brooks, L., Crockett, S., & Wulczyn, F. (2021). Close to Home programmatic and financial analysis. Chicago, IL: Center for State Child Welfare Data, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.

Zhou, X., McClanahan, J., Huhr, S., & Wulczyn, F. (2021). Using congregate care: What the evidence tells us. Chicago, IL: Center for State Child Welfare Data, Chapin  Hall at the University of Chicago.

Wulczyn, F., Zhou, X., & McClanahan, J. (2020). Tennessee Accountability Center: Report 5. Chicago, IL: Center for State Child Welfare Data, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.

Wulczyn, F., Zhou, X., & McClanahan, J. (2019). Tennessee Accountability Center: Report 4. Chicago, IL: Center for State Child Welfare Data, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.

Orlebeke, B., & Zhou, X. (2016). Fiscal analysis in the final comprehensive report: 2010–2015: Evaluation of Ohio’s Title IV-E Waiver Demonstration Project, Protect Ohio. Cambridge, MA: Human Services Research Institute.

Duquette, D., Orlebeke, B., Zinn, A., Pott, R., Skyles, A., & Zhou, X. (2016). Children’s justice: How to improve legal representation for children in child welfare. Chicago, IL: American Bar Association.

Zinn, A., Orlebeke, B., Duquette, D., & Zhou, X. (2016). The organizational of child representation services in child welfare cases: A study of Washington State. Family Court Review, 54(3), 364–381.

Orlebeke, B., Zinn, A., Duquette, D., & Zhou, X. (2015). Characteristics of attorneys representing children in child welfare cases. Family Law Quarterly, 49(3), 477–507.

New York State Unified Court System, Child Welfare Court Improvement Project. (2011). Child Welfare Court Data Metrics: Key Indicators. Albany, NY: New York State Unified Court System. Retrieved from http://ww2.nycourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/files/2018-10/courtMetricsReport-2011_0.pdf

Key Work

Key Work

Project
Building Evidence on New York City’s Efforts to Provide Comprehensive Supports for Youth in Foster Care
This project examines whether New York City's Fair Futures Program is meeting its goals.
August 2, 2023
Research
Evaluation of Fair Futures Shows a Well-Developed but Still Emerging Model for Working with Young People in Foster Care
This report details the findings from an 18-month study of the implementation of the Fair Futures initiative. 
2022
Report
Unified Court and Child Welfare Data System Streamlines Research, Practice
The New York State Child Welfare Court Improvement Program (CWCIP) is a federally funded initiative that promotes continuous quality improvement at the...
2017
Report
Training for Attorneys Representing Children Affects Some Child Welfare Outcomes
Most states require that children in child welfare cases be represented by attorneys. Most of these attorneys are solo practitioners or in small, general...
2016
Project
Informing Decisions in Juvenile Court
Courts around the country drive much of the public’s action on behalf of children who may have been or who are at risk of maltreatment. Chapin Hall has studied...
March 19, 2018
Project
The Center for State Child Welfare Data
The Center for State Child Welfare Data–or the Data Center–supports child welfare systems in more than 30 states to make evidence-based decisions designed to...
January 1, 2018