Children involved in child welfare services (CWS) struggle in school compared to their peers. To provide insights into why more children in the CWS struggle in school, we highlight the association between risk factors experienced more often by children in the CWS and academic achievement. Moreover, we show that exposure to such risk factors increases the probability of later marginalization. Academic achievement is a strong protective factor against later marginalization, providing arguments for increasing academic support for children involved in the CWS. However, knowledge of how to increase academic achievement for these children is lacking. We highlight the need for evidence-based approaches to increase the academic achievement of children in the CWS.
