Abigail Williams-Butler

LIFE Fellow from 2014 to 2017, University of Michigan

PhD

Dissertation completed in 2016

The Role of Relational Permanence in Positive Outcomes Among African American Youth in Foster Care

(Advisor: Pamela Davis-Kean)

Recipient of LIFE Outstanding Alumni Award 2025

Selected Publications

Williams-Butler, A., Ludeke, R., Ghanem, N., Matthews, M., & Kawaii-Bogue, B. (2025). Theoretical considerations for engaging Black youth and families in child-serving systems: Strengths-based approaches, intersectionality, and culturally responsive trauma-informed care. Families in Society, 106(2), 427–446. https://doi.org/10.1177/10443894241304614

Williams-Butler, A., Boyd, R., & Slack, K. (2023). Parenting strengths and distress among Black mothers reported to the child welfare system: The role of social network quality. Social Service Review, 97(2), 231–269. https://doi.org/10.1086/724564

Williams-Butler, A., Ryan, J. P, McLoyd, V. C., Schulenberg, J. E., & Davis-Kean, P. E. (2018). Psychological well-being among African American adolescents in foster care: The role of relational permanence. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27(10), 3277–3287. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1155-8