Examining Guardians Ad Litem

Interdisciplinary Faculty Collaborate to Examine Foster Care System

A new article co-authored by five faculty members from Florida Atlantic, entitled “Forming Relationships with Youth in Foster Care: Perspectives of Guardian ad Litems” was recently published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies. The authors include Heather Thompson, PhD, LCSW, SSW associate professor, Morgan E. Cooley, PhD, LCSW, SSW associate professor, Gabriel T Cesar, PhD, SCCJ assistant professor, and Marianna L. Colvin, PhD, SSW associate professor, college associate deanfr rseearch and academic effectiveness, and director of the Child Welfare Institute, and Laura Backstrom, PhD, associate professor of Sociology. The publication is a cross-sectional, qualitative study of 555 Guardians ad Litem from across the state of Florida that examines their perspectives on their relationships with youth in the foster care system.