Alejandra Ros Pilarz

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School of Social Work

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Curriculum Vitae

Biography

Alejandra Ros Pilarz’s research agenda aims to improve the wellbeing of working families with low-incomes through policy-relevant research. She investigates the effects of parental employment and children’s early care and education contexts on family wellbeing and child development, with a focus on the role of public policies in supporting families from pregnancy through early childhood. In one line of research, Dr. Pilarz examines how parents’ work schedules shape parents’ time with their children, ECE arrangements, and child and family wellbeing. Another line of research focuses on young children’s access to ECE and how ECE policies shape the supply of childcare. In a third line of research, Dr. Pilarz examines women’s employment and economic wellbeing during the period surrounding childbirth, the effects on maternal and infant health, and how policies can improve health during pregnancy and postpartum. Her research has been funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families; the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families; the Russell Sage Foundation; and the Washington Center for Equitable Growth.

Selected Publications:

Hoiting, J., Claessens, A., Pilarz, A. R., Magnuson, K., Awkward-Rich, L., & Yang, H. (2026). Family child care closures in Wisconsin: A mixed methods study with implications for infant-toddler care. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 76(3), 391-401.

Pilarz, A. R. & Walther, A. (2026). Tag-team parenting: Trends in work schedule synchronization among families with young children. Socius  https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231251406753

Pilarz, A. R. & Walther, A. (2025). Trends in mothers’ work schedules in the U.S., 1988-2019: Examining differences by education, family structure, and race and ethnicity. Demography, 62(3), 971-1001. 

Ballentine, K. & Pilarz, A. R. (2025). Are parental nonstandard work schedules a barrier to their school involvement?  Families in Society https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894241303

Pilarz, A. R. & Pac, J. (2025). How does work during pregnancy affect maternal and infant health and development? Child Development Perspectives, 19(1), 45-53.

Hoiting, J., Magnuson, K., Pilarz, A. R., Claessens, A., Yang, H., & Awkward-Rich, L. (2025). Examining the role of public pre-k expansions in the changing supply of child care in Wisconsin. Social Service Review, 99(1),172-196.

Pilarz, A. R., Pac, J. & Walther, A. K. (2024). The effects of state workplace pregnancy accommodation laws on women’s employment and income during pregnancy. Social Service Review, 98(4), 664-702.