Strengthening Family Relationships and Promoting Health Equity for Children and Youth in Foster Care

This research project uses data from the 2018 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) to descriptive examine the sociodemographic, family of origin, geographic, and placement characteristics of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) children in foster care.

• Lee, J. Y., Ogilvie, T., Yoon, S., Kirsch, J., Koh, E., & Spencer, M. S. (2022). Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander children in foster care: A descriptive study of an overlooked child welfare population. Children and Youth Services Review, 141, 106618. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.10661

​​This research project involves using social media data, including data from Reddit, to examine the role of social media in supporting foster families and former foster youth build online social networks and develop a sense of community to help address their needs, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

• Ammari, T., Ahn, E., *Lakhankar, A., & Lee, J. Y. (2025). Finding understanding and support: Navigating online communities to share and connect at the intersection of abuse and foster care experiences. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction (Computer Supported Cooperative Work) (*2.000), 9(2), Article CSCW087. https://doi.org/10.1145/3710985
• Lee, J. Y., Chang, O. D., & Ammari, T. (2021). Using social media data from Reddit to examine foster families’ most pressing concerns and needs during COVID-19. Child Abuse & Neglect, 121, 105263. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105262 

​This research project uses data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) and other external data sources to examine foster care system and contextual factors associated with mortality of children in foster care.

• Lee, J. Y., Steelesmith, D., Chaiyachati, B., Kirsch, J., Rao, S., & Fontanella, C. (2023). Child welfare system-level factors associated with all-cause mortality among children in foster care in the United States, 2009-2018. Child Maltreatment. https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595231177313

​These systematic review and meta-analysis research projects aim to better understand racial disparities in the health of children in foster care by synthesizing research evidence in the past 20 years.

• Radney, A., Lee, J. Y., Xu, A., Steinke, H., Mengo, C., & Johnson-Motoyama, M. (2024). Racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare utilization among children in US foster care: Recommendations to challenge the status quo based on a scoping review. Children and Youth Services Review (Special Issue on Envisioning New Approaches to Child Welfare and Social Care of Marginalized Children and Families) (*3.300) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.107687
• Lee, J. Y., Kirsch, J., Presley, S., Beal, S. J., Xu, Y., Radney, A., & Denby, R. (2024). Racial and ethnic disparities in the physical health outcomes of children in foster care: a systematic review. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse (*6.400), 25(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380221145911