Shalhevet Attar-Schwartz (Ph.D.) is a Full Professor at the School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research focuses on child well-being and child welfare, with a particular emphasis on children and youth in public care.
Her research on children in out-of-home care encompasses a variety of topics, including children’s safety, quality of life, social support, and psychosocial and educational adjustment in residential care settings. Driven by a social-ecological perspective, her work on the well-being and functioning of children in residential care considers not only the individual risk and protective factors within the child and their family but also contextual factors such as the children's experiences in care and organizational influences. To explore these ecological models, she mainly employs multilevel statistical models.
Prof. Attar-Schwartz's research extends to exploring the social support provided to children and youth in residential care. She investigates the contribution of diverse support sources, such as their nuclear and extended family, peers and the residential care staff, to the emotional, behavioral, educational, and health outcomes of these individuals.
In addition, she delves into intergenerational relationships and their contribution to child well-being. She has conducted investigations within the Israeli local context, focusing on Arab and Jewish children and youth, and has extended her research internationally, collaborating with researchers from the UK. Her examination of intergenerational relationships spans across young people in residential care and extends to kinship care, predominantly facilitated by grandparents, comparing it with non-kinship care.
Beyond her academic pursuits, Prof. Attar-Schwartz contributes to the enhancement of children's well-being in care by serving as a member on various governmental and non-governmental committees and initiatives in Israel.