All foster children deserve the opportunity to find their forever families. Too often, Black and brown children remain in foster care for too long without the necessary support. State and federal leaders can change that.
In the 15 years I worked as a caseworker in impoverished communities in New York City and the Bay Area, the majority of my cases were black or brown children. On average, black children spend more time in foster homes than white children. Young black people too more like that young white people age out of foster care without a family.
Even though caring social workers and extended families do everything they can to help, these young people often grow up in a system that cannot meet their needs. And their needs are considerable: Children in low-income neighborhoods, especially Black children, experience higher levels of trauma and the effects of systemic racism. A systemic response can address that.
Many Black children in foster care are placed with families of a different race who may not be adequately trained, educated, or supported to handle the unique challenges Black children face. This has been a challenge for the child welfare system, requiring prioritizing equity-based solutions and preparing foster families to address these challenges. For example, black parents in the United States often talk to their children about the ever-present threat of racially biased police violence. White adoptive parents, who may not have had similar life experiences, can still educate and support Black children to be aware of the risk.
Not surprisingly, emerging evidence suggests that black Americans are more skeptical about the benefits of foster care. A new Kidsave-Gallup study found that 71% of black adults agree that the foster care system could do more to help birth families stay together, compared to 65% of Hispanics and 55% of white adults . Black adults are also the least likely to agree that the foster care system supports children who need care.
However, the data also points to part of the solution: More than a third of African Americans reported having given a lot of thought to foster care (34%) or adopting from foster care (26%), above national averages . A few simple changes could remove the obstacles some of those Black families face so that more of them can foster or adopt Black children.
An initial hurdle is changing perceptions within Black communities about the child welfare system. Educational campaigns focused on positive representation would be a start. Families who do not meet income and housing eligibility requirements, including Black families, are excluded from foster care and adoption, but federal and state legislation could provide waivers for placements to make up for small deficiencies and ensure that Provide administrative support for applications and other paperwork. . Anti-discrimination laws and enforcement are also needed to ensure that applicant families are evaluated without racial or implicit bias.
State and federal governments should invest in recruiting black communities to find and encourage potential adoptive parents and support those who get involved, particularly by providing more administrative support and free and affordable mental health services, so that both parents and children receive good support.
Foster and adoption families and mentors of any race would also benefit from peer support, and the child welfare system should facilitate those connections. Formal education within the system could increase cultural competence among non-Black families who foster or adopt Black children. For example, parents may need to learn how to properly care for black children's hair. This is the kind of knowledge that Black families and children in foster care need to thrive together.
At the policy level, some federal changes could help all children in foster care. from President Biden Proclamation on National Adoption Month Last fall he highlighted positive steps that could encourage more families to adopt, such as pushing for a fully refundable adoption tax credit. She also hopes to expand the Military Parental Leave Program, which would support families who adopt by offering 12 weeks of paid, unpaid parental leave to service members who give birth, adopt or provide long-term foster care. And the White House has called for housing vouchers to help keep children off the streets when they are no longer in the foster care system.
To truly reform the child welfare system, we must not only help children now in care, but also reform the systems that have led to the disproportionate representation of at-risk Black children remaining in foster care into adulthood. This would include a broad range of funding and policies that would support birth families trying to stay together, such as continued postpartum coverage for low-income women and reducing child protective services intervention in cases of abandonment due to poverty, to better ensure that these children and their families can succeed.
Shantay Armstrong leads HUG Project by Kidsavean initiative aimed at improving outcomes for Black youth in foster care.
