Supporting the Needs of Children: The Interaction of Child Welfare and Schools

With research indicating that children in the child welfare system struggle academically, a new study looks at the ways in which child welfare workers interact with schools. The study examined several characteristics of child welfare workers and found that workers’ interactions with schools were related to caseload size, number of schools served, region of practice, and years of practice. These findings have important implications for the training and education of child welfare workers, the administration of the child welfare and educational systems, and the development of cross-system policy that holistically addresses the needs of children in care.

Policies to increase exits from foster care to permanence and policies to improve K-3 academic success.