Professors Collaborate In Interdisciplinary Study

Examining Guardians in the Foster Care System

A new peer-reviewed article co-authored by five faculty members has been published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies, entitled “Forming Relationships with Youth in Foster Care: Perspectives of Guardian ad Litems.” The authors – Heather Thompson, PhD, LCSW, associate professor in the Sandler School of Social Work (SSW); Morgan E. Cooley, PhD, LCSW, associate professor in SSW; Gabriel T Cesar, PhD, assistant professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and Marianna L. Colvin, PhD, associate professor in SSW – collaborated with Laura Backstrom, PhD, associate professor of sociology in the Schmidt College of Arts and Letters. 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.