Our multidisciplinary team brings significant and complementary expertise in the delivery, financing, and alignment of child welfare and behavioral health services.
Alicia Bunger
Dr. Alicia Bunger’s research addresses the central question: how can human service organizations and professionals work together to improve service access, quality, and outcomes for the communities they serve? Her work is set within the context of behavioral health and child welfare systems and is organized round three domains (1) the role of interorganizational relationships for reducing service fragmentation, (2) knowledge sharing and best practice implementation, and (3) front-line practices that facilitate linkages to effective services. This work is intended to inform policy and managerial strategies that close structural gaps and improve care quality. Currently, she is focusing on implementation of interventions that require collaboration across system, and is interested in developing practical tools to support executive leaders.
Emmeline Chuang
Dr. Emmeline Chuang is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Welfare at UC Berkeley, where she directs the Mack Center on Public and Nonprofit Management in the Human Services. She is also an adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management in the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA. Her research addresses how health and human service organizations can improve service access and well-being of underserved populations, with a specific focus on: (1) how the nature and quality of inter-organizational relationships between health and human service organizations affects service access and client outcomes; (2) how managers and other organizational leaders can best support evidence uptake by frontline practitioners; and (3) how the design of work affects provider and staff satisfaction and quality of care. Her research has been funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Hitachi Foundation, the William T Grant Foundation, and by the VA’s Health Services Research & Development Service, and is typically conducted in collaboration with community partners.
Amanda Girth
Dr. Amanda Girth is an Associate Professor of Public Affairs, Director of Washington Studies, and Enarson Fellow at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University. Dr. Girth is a policy expert in government contracting and a public management scholar who studies implementation issues and accountability challenges in third-party governance. Her research is published in highly-ranked outlets, including Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Journal of Supply Chain Management, and Public Administration Review. She is co-editor in chief for the Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation, an international peer-reviewed journal.
Kathryn Lancaster
Dr. Lancaster’s work bridges epidemiology and health behavior through the full course of survey, qualitative, and mixed methods research. She seek to understand the engagement in prevention and treatment of substance use and infectious diseases among vulnerable populations. Dr. Lancaster’s research also includes the design, implementation, and evaluation of behavioral and multilevel interventions to reduce substance use and engage those living with HIV into the continuum of care.
Learn more about Dr. Lancaster
Graduate Research Associates:
- Logan Kai Knight (College of Social Work)
- Erica Magier (College of Social Work)
- Jared Martin (College of Education and Human Ecology)
- Rebecca Phillips (College of Social Work)
- Rebecca Smith (Glenn College of Public Affairs)
- Mary Finley (College of Social Work)
- Ritika Kurup (College of Social Work)