This year, doctoral candidate Leah Cheatham received a second year of funding as a part of her Doris Duke Fellowship for the Promotion of Child Well-Being. The fellowship is awarded annually to select doctoral students across the country that are to become the next generation of leaders within the field of child welfare. Through this fellowship, Leah has been allowed to concentrate on her doctoral dissertation research, which focuses on educational and employment attainment among youth with disabilities aging out of foster care. “Youth aging out of foster care with disabilities are a complex population.” Leah explained, “Understanding the effects of these multiple experiences—foster care, living with a disability, and aging out—requires collaboration across multiple fields, including: social work, child development, education, medicine, and law.”

Leah’s unique background in both law and social work make her well suited to address the challenges faced when researching such a complex population. And, through the Doris Duke Fellowship peer-learning network she has also been able to connect with other scholars with a similar research focus. The fellowship aims to promote interdisciplinary research to promote child well-being, and Leah notes that her cohort of other doctoral fellows include scholars with background in special education, public health, social policy, criminal justice and clinical psychology.

In addition to connecting with other doctoral fellows, Leah has also had the guidance of both an academic mentor and a policy mentor through the Doris Duke Fellowship. Dr. Karen Randolph, a professor and Agnes Flaherty Stoops Professor in Child Welfare at the FSU College of Social Work, has served as her academic mentor. And, Henry Stephen Pennypacker, Esq., President and CEO of the Partnership for Strong Families, Inc., has served as her policy mentor. “Having these individuals who can provide guidance from two distinct perspectives helps me immensely as I strive to create a piece of research that is viewed not only as rigorous within academia but, also, as practical and informative by those working within the field of child welfare,” Leah said about her mentors.

Leah hopes after the completion of her fellowship and her doctoral program at FSU College of Social Work that she will continue to develop her research to assist youth with disabilities aging out of foster care and to continue to pursue opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration. “I want to advance the knowledge base to the point where effectively tailored services and programs may be developed to ensure optimal outcomes for youth with disabilities exiting the child welfare system,” Leah discussed when reflecting upon her research goals. “I would also like to address many of the barriers to permanency that youth with disabilities experience within the child welfare system.” Her passion lies ultimately with advocating for children’s rights, inspiring future generations of social advocates, and to inspire social workers to embrace the professional role as advocates for social justice. The Doris Duke Fellowship has helped to her to establish a strong research foundation in this area to effect research and policy.