Wendy Wiegmann

Dr. Wendy Wiegmann serves as a Lecturer in the School of Social Welfare at the University of California, Berkeley and Project Director for the California Child Welfare Indicators Project (CCWIP). With over nine years of leadership in CCWIP, she directs research analyzing administrative data to examine child welfare phenomena while teaching research methodology and substance abuse treatment courses for MSW students and undergraduate social work courses. Her prior professional experience includes direct child welfare work in Alameda and San Francisco counties.

Dr. Wiegmann holds an MSW and PhD completed at UC Berkeley, where she received multiple academic awards and fellowships. Her educational background combines formal training with lived experience as a former foster youth and legal guardian to her siblings.

Her research centers on critical child welfare issues including juvenile dependency court reforms, foster care systems (particularly children with siblings in foster care), substance abuse among parents in the child welfare system, and service efficacy improvements for families. She employs advanced quantitative methods like propensity score matching and large-scale data analysis, with her personal history deeply informing her scholarly perspective on systemic injustices.

Dr. Wiegmann's publications (2013-2017) demonstrate consistent focus on data-driven child welfare improvements, examining educational disparities among foster youth, substance abuse impacts on maltreatment, and workforce development. Her work bridges academic research and practical application through instructional modules and policy-focused analyses of administrative data.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor, UC Berkeley (2016)
• Predoctoral Fellowship, Alcohol Research Group (2014-2016)
• Dean’s Normative Time Fellowship, UC Berkeley (2014)
• Graduate Division Summer Grant, UC Berkeley (2013)
• Youth Advocate of the Year, North American Council on Adoptable Children (2006)

As an educator, she supervises research methodology training and quality assurance processes for CCWIP while securing grants supporting child welfare data analysis. Her teaching emphasizes translating complex data into actionable practice improvements for future social workers.

Dr. Wiegmann leads the CCWIP team in collaboration with the California Department of Social Services and county agencies, focusing on data analysis and dissemination to transform child welfare policy through evidence-based insights and stakeholder engagement.