Antonio Garcia

Antonio Garcia is an influential researcher specializing in child welfare services and mental health outcomes at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy & Practice. His research focuses on critical areas including foster youth transitions, mental health service delivery, and racial disparities in child welfare systems. His significant work includes groundbreaking studies on mental health and substance use disorders among transitioning foster youth, implementation of evidence-based practices in public agencies, and the development of social support systems for aged-out foster youth. As a leading scholar in his field, Garcia has contributed to understanding service inequalities among diverse populations in the child welfare system, particularly examining outcomes for racial and ethnic minority youth. His research has influenced policy and practice through studies on parental attitudes toward positive parenting programs, barriers to mental health services, and the effectiveness of independent living services for foster youth