Bob’s expertise in data collection and government programs allows him to develop and apply research to major child and family policy issues. He creates research databases from state and federal administrative data to conduct policy-relevant analyses and evaluations. In particular, he has worked in the policy areas such as early childhood programs, child welfare services, employment, criminal and juvenile justice, income maintenance, nutrition, K-12 and post-secondary education, and mental health services.

Bob developed Chapin Hall’s Integrated Database on Child and Family Programs in Illinois, which links the administrative data on social service receipt, education, criminal and juvenile justice, employment, healthcare, and early childhood programs to provide a comprehensive picture of child and family use of publicly provided or financed service programs. His work provides high-quality information to policymakers to improve the programs serving children and their families. He was the Principal Investigator of the 2012 National Survey of Early Care and Education.

In addition to his Chapin Hall work, he is a co-creator of the Master’s Degree in Computational Analysis and Public Policy, Lecturer and Senior Fellow at the Harris School for Public Policy Studies. He is a member of the Committee on National Statistics of the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine. Bob received his Ph.D. from the School of Social Service Administration of the University of Chicago. He is also co-founder of the International Society for Child Indicators.