Yun Chen

Dr. Yun Chen’s research focuses on how frontline practitioners deliver services within systems shaped by substance use, surveillance, and social marginalization. Her ethnographic work in China studied how practitioners balanced bureaucratic demands with the realities of clients facing addiction, stigma, and instability. These challenges mirror those in U.S. child welfare, where substance use is one of the leading causes of system involvement. Her findings highlight that effective intervention relies not only on tools or procedures but on practitioners’ ability to sustain relationships, use judgement, and act ethically under pressure. She has examined how social workers, peer workers, and teams adapt to organizational demands and oversight, documenting how performance measures and paperwork shape practice. Despite constraints, many sustain “good enough” relationships with clients. Dr. Chen’s insights connect to workforce issues in child welfare, including turnover, administrative burden, and role strain. Her goal is to strengthen evidence on how to prepare and retain a resilient workforce. Her work supports the Child Welfare Research Center’s mission to advance prevention and intervention practices, promote child and family well-being, and build effective university community partnerships that translate research into practice.