Even though my subject for this blog is concentrated around stereotypes within the foster care system and their implications for foster care children; I thought I needed to address the subject of race and foster care after posting my previous interview.
The comment at the end sort of sticks out like a sore thumb. And I thought that maybe adding some context behind it might help create a stronger dialog.
Even though race can be used as a stereotype towards foster care children, I wanted to do more research about the disparity in numbers between different ethnicities in the foster care system, particularly researching African Americans to contextualize the comment made in my interview. I still think taking a detour to talk about these issues directly relates to my original topic, and is also helpful when undertanding the complexities of not only the foster care system, but the youth in the foster care system.
I have cited all of my sources on the right, along with research and articles. (Which by now I am sure all of you are familiar with.) If you want to see any of the information for yourself, just simply click on the link(s) and you're there!
"More than half of the 500,000 children in foster on any day in America come from ethnic minority families even though children from minority communities make up less than half the children in this country... At every age level, black children are more likely to be placed in foster care than whites or Hispanics." - Facts presented by Robert B. Hill in his research Synthesis on Disproportionality in Child Welfare: An Update
"Race and Foster Care," an article from 2007, addresses the disproportionate numbers of ethnic children that make up the foster care population. The article states "there are more children of color living in foster care, especially African American than would be expected based solely on their numbers in the general population." Meaning, that even though fewer African American children make up the total population, there are more in foster care than children of other races. "In 2005, non-Hispanic black children made up approximately 15% of all children under 18 but accounted for 32% of foster children. " The amount of African American children that make up the foster care system is extremely disproportionate.
The article continues with possible explanations as to why so many children of color are in the foster care system.
Parent and Family Risk Factor Theories. Parent and Family Risk Factor theories suggest that the reason why the disproportionate representation of minorities in the foster care system is because they come from families that have disproportionate needs and more likely to have risk factors like unemployment, teen parenthood, poverty, substance abuse, incarceration, domestic violence, and mental illness that can result in higher levels of maltreatment.
Community Risk Factor Theories. The community risk factor theory suggests that the over representation of minorities in the foster care system has less to do with race and class, and more to do with where these children reside in neighborhoods and communities that may have risk factors such as high levels of poverty, welfare assistance, unemployment, homelessness, single parent families, and crime and street violence. These high risk factors may make residents more likely to be watched by public authorities.
Organizational and Systemic Factor Theories. Organizational and systemic factor theories suggest that the results from different agencies, cultural insensitivity and basis of workers, governmental policies, and institutional or structural racism results in the disproportions.
However, as the article notes, the evidence needed to determine which one of these theories is most accurate lacks because the studies focus on the presence or absence of disproportionality, not its cause.
Earlier, I quoted that although African American children make up only 15% of the population, 32% are in foster care. In another article from 1999, "The Color of Care" it states that black children make up 49% of the children in foster care. One can deduct from this information that in 1999, more African American children made up the foster care population when compared to 2005. However, either way you look at it, whether it by 32 or 49 percent (which is a dramatic difference), it is still obvious that there is a huge disparity within the foster care system.
"The Color of Race" continues to comment on the overwhelming amount of these children that stay in foster care. "The Department of Health and Human Services conducted a national study in 1994 and discovered that while 43% of white children entering the child welfare system are out in less than three months, only 16% of African American children leave within three months."
The article suggests that the inequities between white children and non white children may be rooted in poverty, however, about 70% of African Americans lived above the poverty level in 1995. It also suggests that substance abuse, or drugs, may be the reason behind this disparity.
