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SC FIRST — the South Carolina Foster Initiative for Research, Solutions, and Transition — supports the excellence of current and former foster youth in South Carolina by investigating the foster care experience, translating those findings into evidence-based solutions, and partnering with the institutions that shape their lives.
SC FIRST partners with educators, policymakers, and community leaders to drive meaningful change for youth currently or formerly in foster care. Connect with us to collaborate, consult, or learn how our evidence-based research can support your work.
SC FIRST supports the excellence of current and former foster youth by conducting asset-based research, identifying what truly works in foster care, and translating those insights into evidence-based solutions. We partner with education, health, social services, and policy systems to drive meaningful, long-term change.
We investigate the foster care experience to learn which supports help youth persist through adversity and build successful futures.
We collaborate with institutions to improve programs, inform decisions, and strengthen outcomes for youth currently or formerly in foster care.
Foster care will always exist in some form. Our work focuses on understanding what actually helps young people in care — and why it matters for South Carolina’s future.
Across cultures and regions, foster care appears whenever children must live temporarily with someone other than their biological parents due to loss, incapacity, incarceration, or abuse and neglect.
Youth in care cannot choose why they enter the system, how many placements they experience, or what happens with their biological families — and many have already faced significant trauma.
Former foster youth point to specific supports that helped them persist: strong relationships with caring adults, access to enriching activities like sports and clubs, and literacy-rich environments.
Investing in better foster care experiences more than pays for itself through reduced social services and incarceration costs in adulthood — and creates space for joyful, meaningful lives.
We investigate the foster care experience to understand what works, for whom, and under what conditions always from an asset-based perspective.
We assess programs and services to determine effectiveness, efficiency, and real-world impact for youth currently or formerly in foster care.
We partner with education, health, social services, and policy institutions to improve systems and strengthen outcomes statewide.
We share research through presentations, policy recommendations, and statewide advocacy to drive meaningful, evidence-based change.
SC FIRST works to strengthen supports for foster youth through research, evaluation, and evidence-based solutions.
Asset-based Research Projects
Institutional Collaborations
Policy & Program Recommendations
Programs & Evaluations Conducted
SC FIRST examines how K–12 and higher-education environments shape long-term outcomes for youth in foster care. Our research identifies the school-based supports — relationships, enrichment opportunities, and literacy-rich environments — that help young people persist and thrive.
Through our research, current and former foster youth consistently share what made a meaningful difference in their lives — strong relationships, enriching opportunities, and supportive environments. Here are insights shaped directly by those experiences.
Having someone who believed in me — a teacher, a coach, or a mentor — helped me stay focused even during the hardest transitions.
Access to activities like sports, clubs, and the arts gave me the chance to explore who I was, not just what I’d been through.
Programs that helped me stay connected — tutoring, mentoring, and supportive caseworkers — made it easier to focus.
Literacy-rich environments and stability at school helped me imagine a future beyond foster care.
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