The University of Georgia will partner with the Multi-Agency Alliance for Children (MAAC) to identify and address barriers to post-secondary pathways faced by transition-age youth who experience foster care during adolescence and young adulthood. The partnership’s jointly developed research agenda has two complementary aims: 1) analyze longitudinal administrative data to identify predictors of postsecondary success and systemic barriers for youth aging out of foster care and 2) conduct a rigorous mixed-methods evaluation of MAAC’s LEADS program, which provides wraparound educational supports for youth in foster care in two counties. The grant will enable MAAC to develop a formal research infrastructure that includes systematic data collection, evaluation protocols, and staff training in data-informed decision-making. Institutional change at the University of Georgia, a Carnegie Community Engaged university, will be led by the McBee Institute of Higher Education and the Embark Center, a statewide network housed at the university that works to improve college access and success, in collaboration with university Offices of Research and Public Service & Outreach. Together, they will develop strategies, resources, and incentives and policies to promote community engaged scholarship, including a working group to revise promotion and tenure policies.
This grant will strengthen the partnership between The University of Georgia and the Multi-Agency Alliance for Children (MAAC).
