From barriers to successful collaboration: public schools and child welfare working together

Few mechanisms exist to support successful collaboration between public schools and child welfare agencies. One unfortunate consequence is that the children ostensibly being served by either system often end up receiving inadequate services from both systems. Focus groups were held with caseworkers, educators, and students to learn how the two systems can work more collaboratively. This article reports on the barriers and successful practices identified by the participants that affect the educational functioning of students living in foster care. The article concludes with the participants' recommendations for practices and policies to improve collaborative efforts between the two systems.