Anthony Gómez, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Social Welfare at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and an Affiliated Researcher with the California Child Welfare Indicators Project (CCWIP) at UC Berkeley.
Dr. Gómez’s primary area of research examines how child welfare policies shape developmental, behavioral health, and human capital outcomes among adolescents and young adults transitioning from foster care. Drawing on administrative data and advanced quantitative methods, his scholarship identifies practical solutions to help child welfare and other service systems better support young people during their transition to adulthood. His second line of research explores how policy and services shape outcomes for children in formal and informal kinship care. His work has appeared in leading journals, including Child Maltreatment, the Journal of the Society of Social Work and Research, and the Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal.
Dr. Gómez currently serves as the Administrative Data Lead for the evaluations of California’s Guaranteed Income Pilot Program and the Children’s Crisis Continuum Pilot Program. Additionally, he leads research examining the effects of Continuum of Care Reform (AB 403), a statewide policy that aimed to reduce California’s reliance on group homes as a placement option for youth with acute behavioral health needs. His work has been supported by the California Policy Lab, the Grand Challenges for Social Work, and the Constellation Fund.
Dr. Gómez earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Pomona College, his MSW from UCLA (Go Bruins!), and his PhD in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley. Prior to his academic career, he worked as a therapist in a group home and served as a Luskin Leadership Fellow at the Los Angeles County Office of Child Protection. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family and baking sourdough bread while listening to reggaeton and early-2000s hip-hop.
