SC FIRST — the South Carolina Foster Initiative for Research, Solutions, and Transition — is dedicated to supporting current and former foster youth through asset-based research and evidence-driven solutions. We examine the foster care experience, identify what truly works for young people, and partner with education, health, social service, and policy institutions to drive real, measurable change.
SC FIRST studies how educational environments influence the long-term outcomes of youth in foster care. Our work highlights the school-based supports, relationships, and opportunities that help young people build stability, resilience, and academic success.
We explore how teachers, mentors, and school communities can provide the stability and belonging that help foster youth stay engaged and succeed academically.
Our research identifies the enrichment activities — sports, arts, clubs, and academic pathways — that former foster youth credit for helping them achieve long-term goals.
SC FIRST works across education, health, social services, and policy to strengthen supports for youth currently or formerly in foster care.
Amanda Moon, PhD, is a former foster youth and the founder of SC FIRST: South Carolina Foster Initiative for Research, Solutions, and Transition. Her lived experience shaped her commitment to creating evidence-based solutions for youth in foster care. As a child, Amanda moved between kinship care, foster homes, youth incarceration, and both biological parents — experiencing at least 12 moves during high school alone.
Seeking stability, she joined the military after graduation and later earned the educational credentials that shaped her career as an educator and researcher. Amanda began her career as a 5th-grade teacher in Georgetown, South Carolina, before completing a Master of Arts in Teaching English (secondary), a Master’s in Educational Psychology, and a PhD in Teaching and Learning.
Her research focuses on what K–12 schools — not just social services — can do to support youth in foster care; how educational environments shape long-term trajectories; and how institutions such as education, health care, and the justice system can share responsibility for improving outcomes. She has served as the principal and co-principal investigator on multiple research studies and continues active research today.
After earning her PhD from the University of South Carolina in 2023, Amanda received a post-doctoral Fulbright and spent eight months conducting independent research across Australia on foster care and education. Upon returning to South Carolina, she has taught and supervised early childhood and elementary pre-service teachers in the USC College of Education, bringing over 15 years of experience across elementary, secondary, and higher-education settings.
In addition to building SC FIRST, Amanda owns Moon Program Eval & Research, her program evaluation and research firm, and previously served seven years on the South Carolina Foster Care Review Board. Her work now centers on advocating for educational benefits for youth aging out of foster care, expanding SC FIRST, advancing her evaluation work, and preparing the next generation of teachers.
Dr. Kristen D. Seay is an Associate Professor in the College of Social Work at the University of South Carolina, where she also serves as PhD Program Director. Her research focuses on decreasing child maltreatment, strengthening parenting, and improving the well-being of vulnerable children and families, with deep expertise in the child welfare system.
She served as principal investigator on a project with the University of South Carolina Center for Child and Family Studies that examined how social determinants influence foster care entry and exit, funded by The Duke Endowment. Dr. Seay also led a three-year Duke Endowment grant to develop a health and education information exchange platform that improved child welfare case management by increasing the accuracy and efficiency of health and educational record keeping for children in foster care across South Carolina.
Her additional research has been supported by the BlueCross® BlueShield® of South Carolina Foundation, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), a Doris Duke Fellowship for the Promotion of Child Well-Being, and a Fahs-Beck Doctoral Dissertation Grant. Before earning her PhD, Dr. Seay worked in Child Protective Services in two states, bringing front-line practice experience to her research and teaching. She is deeply committed to supporting families involved with the child welfare system.
Dr. Amanda Stafford McRell is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Community Health and Prevention at Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health and a course instructor in the University of South Carolina College of Social Work. Her research focuses on child and family well-being, examining how agencies, systems, and policies shape the mental health of children, caregivers, and families.
With more than a decade of social work practice experience in health and human service agency leadership and management — and lived experience as a licensed foster parent — Dr. McRell brings both professional and personal insight to her work. She is especially passionate about improving mental health outcomes, expanding access to social and extracurricular opportunities, and strengthening child–family relationships for youth involved in the child welfare system.
Dr. McRell is deeply committed to amplifying the voices of marginalized communities and advancing equity-driven, collaborative solutions. Her work is grounded in a trauma-informed, justice-oriented perspective that centers culturally responsive, relationship-based approaches.
SC FIRST develops research-based materials that show why tuition waivers and campus supports matter for youth aging out of foster care. These resources highlight the cost of inaction, the barriers to college, and what it takes to make campus living possible.
This resource compares the cost of a college education to the long-term public assistance costs for former foster youth with no degree. It shows how a tuition waiver is an investment that reduces expenses and improves outcomes for young adults in South Carolina.
This resource illustrates how difficult it is for foster youth to meet college admissions requirements and how a tuition waiver can provide stability. It also highlights what neighboring states already offer, showing where South Carolina has room to grow.
This resource explains the gap between tuition costs, the real cost of living on campus, and the maximum aid currently available. It makes the case for a tuition waiver so youth aging out of foster care can live on campus, eat regularly, buy books, and experience a more typical college life.
