“They want to hear my voice”: facilitators of interprofessional collaboration among professionals supporting the education of children and youth in foster care

An achievement gap in K-12 education exists between children in foster care and their peers. Professionals have a shared responsibility to support the education of these children, but often face barriers to engaging in interprofessional collaboration. Interviews and focus groups (N = 22) were conducted with child welfare professionals, school professionals, and professional caregivers to explore the facilitators of interprofessional collaboration in their work together. Themes included: centering the best interests of the child, effective communication, opportunities and capacity to meaningfully engage, positive and trusting relationships, being knowledgeable about the child, policies, roles, and systems, and empathy toward other professionals.