Chapin Hall

Most efforts fall short because of common, preventable pitfalls. On September 17, Chapin Hall's Yolanda Green-Rogers and Claire Kimberly are leading a three-hour virtual workshop on the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle to give practitioners in child welfare and human services the conceptual grounding and hands-on tools to get it right.

This experience is capped at 30 participants for hands-on, learning. You will leave with a completed worksheet and guidance for advancing improvement work at our organization.

Express interest here: https://tinyurl.com/ChapinHallPDSA

Too often, the families and communities most affected by public systems have little say in how those systems work. When impacted communities are left out of the design process, solutions fall short.

Chapin Hall's Blue Sky Possibilities Framework sets out on a different path: one where the people closest to the problem are positioned to lead system change.

Explore the framework: https://www.chapinhall.org/project/blue-sky-possibilities-framework/

Improving outcomes for children and families requires engaging the voices of children, families, and partners, using data to understand performance, identifying root causes, and testing changes that support continuous improvement.

Chapin Hall Senior Policy Analysts Claire Kimberly and Yolanda Green-Rogers have spent years helping child welfare and human services organizations build their capacity and drive real improvement. On September 17, they're bringing that expertise to a small, three-hour virtual workshop on the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle (limited to 30 participants).

If you're a CQI practitioner, quality manager, or program supervisor looking to sharpen your practice, this is for you. You’ll learn how to actively engage voices in the PDSA cycle to ensure multiple perspectives inform your improvement effort.

Express your interest using this form: https://tinyurl.com/ChapinHallPDSA

Children in kinship care have better behavioral and mental health outcomes, fewer placement disruptions, and are more likely to report feeling loved than children in traditional foster care.

The evidence for kinship navigator programs is strong and Chapin Hall's experts can help your state agency or community-based organization build and sustain them.

Explore the full range of opportunities we provide in our new two-pager, from program development and evaluation to staff training and equity-centered practices.:https://www.chapinhall.org/wp-content/uploads/Chapin-Hall-Kinship-Navigation-Services_June-2026.pdf

How can housing and child welfare leaders work together to keep more families stably housed and out of the child welfare system?

On June 15 (one week away!), Chapin Hall, Casey Family Programs, and CSH are hosting a webinar for decision-makers interested in cross-sector housing strategies. Presenters will share actionable takeaways from a 6-month national learning collaborative, including how states are blending funding, engaging federal partners, and building the case for housing as a child welfare prevention strategy.

Guest speakers from four different states will share their takeaways:

- Evan Caster - Deputy Director for the Division of Housing, Colorado Department of Local Affairs

- Janel Winter - Assistant Commissioner and Director, Division of Housing and Community Resources at the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs

- Mary Carpenter - Executive Advisor at the Kentucky Department for Community Based Services

- Stacey Mahler - Child Welfare Housing Coordinator at the Oregon Department of Human Services' Child Welfare Program

Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1uNUdbrZRfaMG3Nc8omt7Q #/registration

What does a strong Plan-Do-Study-Act quality improvement cycle look like in a and human services setting?

On September 17, Chapin Hall Senior Policy Analysts Yolanda Green-Rogers and Claire Kimberly are hosting a three-hour virtual workshop to walk you through a complete PDSA cycle applied to a real improvement challenge. This is a small-group experience designed for hands-on learning with only 30 spots available.

You’ll learn how to avoid common pitfalls and apply frameworks grounded in the day-to-day realities of service organizations like yours, while identifying where and when stakeholder voices should inform decisions, improvements, and outcomes. You’ll leave with both guidance and a complete worksheet to support implementation of a testable improvement plan.

Express interest here: https://uchicago.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b2As1w83bBgmVEy

We need more cross-sector collaboration across state lines to solve problems for families.

In 2025, and child welfare leaders from Colorado, New Jersey, Kentucky, and Oregon spent six months learning together, sharing what works, and developing strategies to better serve families at the intersection of housing instability and involvement.

On June 15, join Chapin Hall, Casey Family Programs, CSH, and leaders from the four states in the cohort for a webinar on this collaborative. You’ll hear perspectives from professionals navigating the same challenge from very different starting points: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1uNUdbrZRfaMG3Nc8omt7Q #/registration

Guest speakers:

- Evan Caster - Deputy Director for the Division of Housing, Colorado Department of Local Affairs

- Janel Winter - Assistant Commissioner and Director, Division of Housing and Community Resources at the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs

- Mary Carpenter - Executive Advisor at the Kentucky Department for Community Based Services

- Stacey Mahler - Child Welfare Housing Coordinator at the Oregon Department of Human Services' Child Welfare Program

To commemorate Mental Health Awareness Month, Illinois high school students moderated a roundtable discussion on May 27 with Governor JB Pritzker, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health Sameer Vohra, State Superintendent Tony Sanders, and Chapin Hall’s Dr. Dana Weiner. The youth asked questions of state leaders about the impact of social media on youth mental health and measures being taken to safeguard youth well-being.

“I was very impressed with the young people who facilitated our discussion, and encouraged by their initiative, commitment, and courage in using their own lived experience to motivate and inform policy advocacy on behalf of all Illinois youth,” said Dana Weiner, who is currently serving in Pritzker’s administration as the Chief Officer for Children’s Behavioral Health Transformation.

Weiner is leading the implementation of the Blueprint for Transformation: A Vision for Improved Behavioral Healthcare for Illinois Children, the data-driven roadmap she developed for the state in 2022. Explore that here:https://www.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/gov/documents/childrens-health-web.pdf

What does it look like to bring to child well-being research?

For Bianca Burnside, Project Associate and lived expert at Chapin Hall, it looks like reading an interview guide and immediately sensing how someone who has navigated the child welfare system might respond to a particular question.

Her perspective consistently surfaces things that wouldn't otherwise be visible.

Check out our feature on Bianca, who is contributing firsthand knowledge of the Illinois child welfare system to projects focused on improving services for families: https://www.chapinhall.org/project/bringing-lived-experience-to-the-table-bianca-burnsides-path-to-chapin-hall-2/https://www.chapinhall.org/project/bringing-lived-experience-to-the-table-bianca-burnsides-path-to-chapin-hall-2/

Chapin Hall is an Associate Researcher for a 2-year fellowship to serve as a Data Liaison for the OPT-In For Families initiative funded by the Doris Duke Foundation.

This is a multi-state pilot designed to strengthen community-based responses for families screened out from the Child Protective Services Hotline.

Explore the role and apply through the Current Job Openings button on this page: https://www.chapinhall.org/why-work-at-chapin-hall/