University of Chicago-Chapin Hall Joint Research Fund

Partnerships to promote the well-being of children

Impact Areas

Other Research

For 10 years, the University of Chicago and Chapin Hall provided up to $200,000 annually to support outstanding research designed to support policy and practice that promoted the well-being of children, families, and communities. The Joint Research Fund fostered long-term policy-relevant research collaborations between Chapin Hall staff and University faculty. Research projects ranged in size from $30,000 to $100,000 and could last up to 24 months. Applications were evaluated by the Joint Research Fund Steering Committee, which was composed of appointees from Chapin Hall and the University.

The project was launched in 2014 and concluded in 2023. Reports produced as a result of these grants can be found on Chapin Hall’s website.

Joint Research Fund Awards

Awarded 2023

PROJECT TITLE	CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS	FUNDING
Promoting Positive Child Development and Mental Health Outcomes via Home Visiting with Dual-Language Refugee and Immigrant Families	Reiko Kakuyama-Villaber, Researcher, Chapin Hall Aimee Hilado, Assistant Professor, Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice	$95,000
Designing Robot Coaches to Support Child Social Emotional Learning	Kiljoong Kim, Senior Policy Analyst, Chapin Hall Sarah Sebo, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science	$64,000
Ethical Dilemmas: Developing a Protocol to Examine Home Visitor Responses of Culturally Diverse Families	Jennifer Baquedano, Associate Researcher, Chapin Hall Miwa Yasui, Associate Professor, Crown School of Social Work	$41,000

Awarded 2022

PROJECT TITLE	CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS	FUNDING
Undetected Abuse?: Examining the Prevalence and Role of Economic Abuse in Home Visitation Households"	Melissa Kull, Senior Researcher, Chapin Hall Gina Fedock, Assistant Professor, Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice	$99,976
Exploring Family Networks in Child Welfare Data	Emily Wiegand, Senior Researcher (Analytics Manager), Chapin Hall Claire Donnat, Assistant Professor, Department of Statistics	$98,169

Awarded 2021

PROJECT TITLE	CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS	FUNDING
The effect of the Multi-Disciplinary Pediatric Education and Evaluation Consortium (MPEEC)	Amy Dworsky, Senior Resarch Fellow, Chapin Hall Dr. Veena Ramaiah, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics	$79,988
The role of pediatric primary care innovations in promoting health equity for Latino families: A longitudinal analysis of Mitigating Toxic Stress Study data	Emma Monahan, Researcher, Chapin Hall Aresha Martinez-Cardoso, Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences	$59,976
Responding to community trauma: A feasibility study of a culturally specific & collaborative assessment model	Dana Weiner, Senior Policy Fellow, Chapin Hall Sonya Mathies Dinizulu, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience	$60,000

Awarded 2020

PROJECT TITLE	CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS	FUNDING
Understanding Critical Consciousness Development through Youth Participatory Action Research	Forrest Moore, Policy Fellow, Chapin Hall Christopher Bryan, Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science	$88,021
Evaluating the Impact of School Asthma Policy on Child Health and Well-being in Chicago	Leah Gjertson, Researcher, Chapin Hall Anna Volerman, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of the Biological Sciences	$99,198

Awarded 2019

PROJECT TITLE	CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS	FUNDING
Applying Machine Learning Approaches to Inform Residential Placement Decision-Making in a Child Welfare System	Rayid Ghani, Research Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science Brian Chor, Senior Researcher, Chapin Hall	$59,000
The Effect of Universal Pre-Kindergarten on Total Early Care Accessibility in Chicago	Michael Dinerstein, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics Nicholas Mader, Senior Researcher, Chapin Hall	$56,000
Left Behind: The Effects of Parental Absence on Human Capital Formation among Chinese Children	James Heckman, Director, Center for the Economics of Human Development Fred Wulczyn, Senior Research Fellow, Chapin Hall	$85,000

Awarded 2018

PROJECT TITLE	CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS	FUNDING
Evaluating the Clinical Implementation of the Infant Crying and Parent Well-Being Screening Tool	Bree Andrews, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Biological Sciences Division/Pediatrics Tiffany Burkhardt, Researcher, Chapin Hall	$25,000
Improving Services & Policies for Incarcerated Mothers & Their Children in Illinois	Amy Dworsky, Research Fellow, Chapin Hall Gina Fedock, Assistant Professor, School of Social Service Administration	$88,800
How Child Care and Early Education Supply in Chicago Shapes Latino Parents’ Child Care Decisions	Julia Henly, Associate Professor, School of Social Service Administration Julie Spielberger, Research Fellow, Chapin Hall	$86,200

Awarded 2017

PROJECT TITLE	CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS	FUNDING
Applying Rapid Review Methods to Assess Evidence for Non-medical Management of Asthma in Out-of-Home Youth	Richard Epstein, Research Fellow, Chapin Hall Valerie Press, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine	$80,000
Financial Inclusion and Child Development	Elia de la Cruz Toledo, Researcher, Chapin Hall Jeffrey Grogger, Irving Harris Professor in Urban Policy, Harris School of Public Policy Wladimir Zanoni, Senior Researcher, Chapin Hall	$62,000
Testing a Technological Solution for Improving Service Connections Among Youth and Families Involved in Preventive Child Welfare Services	Stacy Lindau, Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Department of Medicine-Geriatrics, School of Medicine, Biological Sciences Division Dana Weiner, Policy Fellow, Chapin Hall	$58,000

Awarded 2016

PROJECT TITLE	CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS	FUNDING
Father-Son Communication About Violence & Safety in Urban, African-American Communities	Waldo Johnson, Associate Professor, School of Social Service Administration Lauren Rich, Senior Researcher, Chapin Hall	$99,620
Empowering Teachers to Improve Children’s Prekindergarten to Kindergarten Transition: An Implementation Study	Stacy Ehrlich, Senior Research Scientist, University of Chicago Consortium on School Research Angeline Spain, Researcher, Chapin Hall	$99,760

Awarded 2015

PROJECT TITLE	CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS	FUNDING
Understanding and Improving Performance Measurement Systems in Private Child and Family Service Agencies	Nathaniel Israel, Policy Fellow, Chapin Hall J. Curtis McMillen, Professor, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago	$82,452
Do Absences in Elementary School Impact High School Outcomes?	Kerwin Charles, Deputy Dean and Edwin and Betty L. Bergman Distinguished Service Professor, Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago Wladimir Zanoni, Senior Researcher, Chapin Hall	$42,548
Mental Health Engagement: A cultural ecogram pilot intervention study	Amelia Kohm, Researcher, Chapin Hall Miwa Yasui, Assistant Professor, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago	$75,000

Awarded 2014

PROJECT TITLE	CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS	FUNDING
Implementation Study of an Innovative Psychiatric Service Model for Juvenile Offenders	Joy Landwehr, Researcher, Chapin Hall Bradley Stolbach, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Pritzker School of Medicine	$82,992
How do Low-Income Expectant Mothers Package Work and Safety Net Supports?: Evidence from Illinois administrative data	Robert Goerge, Senior Research Fellow, Chapin Hall Marci A. Ybarra, Assistant Professor, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago	$65,909
State of the Child in China: Secondary analysis of the 2010 China family panel studies	Lijun Chen, Senior Researcher, Chapin Hall Dali Yang, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Chicago	$35,101

Note: The Joint Research Fund is working toward sharing reports online. Reports currently online are linked from the project title.

*Positions noted are accurate as of the time of the award.