Professor Katz joined SPRC in January 2005. He has many years of policy, practice and research experience in children and family services in the UK. He started his career as a social worker and manager, working in several local authorities and NGOs in London. He was head of Evaluation, Practice development and Research at the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. After spending some time as a civil servant he returned to research to become Deputy Director of the Policy Research Bureau. 

His research interests include evaluation of complex interventions,  parenting, child protection, youth justice, prevention and family support, children, families and communities, comparative child welfare systems, migration, race and ethnicity. He was Chief Investigator of the National Evaluation of the Stronger Families and Communities Strategy and Brighter Futures, NSW Department of Community Services Early Intervention Program and he is currently CI on the evaluations of New Income Management, the Family Support Program and the Community Detention program and 'Where's the Evidence in Indigenous Social Policy, an ARC linkage project.