Abstract Submission Deadline: July 18, 2025

CWLA, in partnership with the Embark Georgia Center, is pleased to announce a call for abstracts for a special issue of Child Welfare journal. This special issue will bring together scholarship and perspectives from across disciplines and sectors to explore how students experiencing foster care (SEFC) are supported through campus initiatives, community partnerships, state networks, and federal programs. This special issue will center innovative practices, highlight effective policies, and amplify the voices of youth and community partners.

By centering innovative practices, highlighting effective policies, and amplifying the voices of youth and community partners, the special issue aims to deepen understanding and inform efforts to promote SEFC success in postsecondary education. Contributions may take many forms—including empirical studies, policy analyses, reflective essays, and practitioner/community narratives—and should speak to a broad audience that includes higher education professionals, child welfare practitioners, policy advocates, nonprofit leaders, and SEFC themselves.

Context and Rationale

Over the past 30 years, intentional federal and state policies have sought to support SEFC transitioning into college. Yet, this small and often overlooked population continues to face significant barriers in navigating higher education systems. While 70–84% of SEFC aspire to attend college, fewer than one third enroll, and just 3–11% obtain a postsecondary degree (Courtney et al., 2010; Pecora et al., 2006; Okpych et al., 2025; The Legal Center for Foster Care and Education, 2023).

In many states, youth transition out of foster care at 18—coinciding with the typical start of college—and lose access to case management and consistent adult support. As a result, SEFC face considerable challenges including:

  • Attending lower-resourced institutions (Geiger & Beltran, 2017)
  • Housing and food insecurity (Mangan, 2017; Hope Center, 2025)
  • Limited access to long-term adult mentors or peer networks (Dworsky & Perez, 2009)

Federal and state policies such as the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Act and the Fostering Connections to Success Act of 2008 aim to ease this transition, and several states have established formal support networks. In Georgia, the Embark Georgia Center—housed at the University of Georgia’s J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development—has coordinated a statewide response since 2012. Its work spans:

  1. Campus support programs that foster belonging and promote SEFC retention (Cheatham et al., 2021; Salazar, 2012)
  2. Pre-collegiate initiatives that offer academic preparation, mentorship, and exposure to college environments (Adams et al., 2024; Karasek, 2018)
  3. Administration of Education and Training Vouchers (ETVs)—federal funds up to $5,000 annually to support eligible students (Hanson et al., 2022)

Although the editors of this special issue are members of the Embark Georgia Center, this effort seeks to highlight practices and research from around the country and world. Our goal is to broaden the dialogue and elevate diverse perspectives, especially from those with lived experience.

Potential Topics

  • Effective campus support programs for SEFC
  • Pre-collegiate initiatives improving college access
  • The role of Education and Training Vouchers (ETVs) in student success
  • Cross-sector collaboration among child welfare, higher education, and nonprofits
  • The impact of federal and state policy on postsecondary access
  • Postsecondary summer programming for SEFC
  • Community-based participatory research and youth-led inquiry
  • Place-based engagement and culturally responsive programming
  • Perspectives from youth, caseworkers, peer mentors, and faculty
  • Civic engagement and institutional partnerships
  • Intersectionality of SEFC identities (race, LGBTQ+, disability, etc.)
  • Staff training, trauma-informed practices, and professional development
  • Community voice in shaping campus climates and cultures of belonging

Submission Guidelines

Abstracts should be no more than 750 words and clearly identify:

  • Topic and significance
  • Methods and data sources (for empirical work)
  • Expected or preliminary findings
  • Practice and policy implications

Submit abstracts to Lori Lange Tiller, guest editor (lrl@uga.edu), and Rachel Adams, Child Welfare managing editor  (radams@cwla.org), by July 18, 2025. Accepted papers will be due in late fall 2025, with publication anticipated in spring/summer 2026.

We especially encourage submissions from youth with lived experience in foster care, whose perspectives are central to shaping this field. Submissions from youth, community-based practitioners, and cross-sector collaborators are welcomed and encouraged.