Unveiling Injustice: The Plight Of Black Youth in America’s Foster Care System

As a society that strives toward progression, highlighted by the plethora of social and political movements stemming from activism, it is important to note the injustices targeted by these movements as they relate to US bureaucratic systems. The recurring goal of fighting against systemic racism has long since been the foundation for many movements. Movements such as Say Her Name, Black Lives Matter, and Ferguson Action, as well as several others, honorably dedicate themselves to fighting for equal treatment, payment, or access to humanitarian resources in communities, professional fields, or public areas. While it is true racial inequity does dominate areas such as the occupational field and is often the fuel behind police brutality, a light has yet to be shined upon the racial injustices faced within the foster care system by African American youth, whose voices are further silenced by the lack of awareness and lack of resources. 

Currently, black children are disproportionately overrepresented in the foster care system and are proven to be 2.5 times as likely to be placed in the system. Furthermore, according to an influential study conducted by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, black youth also spend a minimum of nine months more compared to white children in the system, not counting the additional time if they were to be processed for potential adoption, a dream which has also been controversially withheld to a majority of African-American foster children. The compilation of such facts has garnered the attention of analysts and researchers, who seek to dissect the reasoning behind these disheartening truths. 

The prevalence of poverty due to systemic racism and the withholding of opportunities from people of color has been studied regarding its contribution to racial disparity in the foster care system. According to Talk Poverty organization statistics, “An estimated 20.8% of African American families lived below the poverty line in 2018, compared to 8.1% of Whites.” Undeniably, financial instability is a difficult situation when examined straightforwardly. However, when considering it being tied to the high possibility of a sole parent being the provider of the home and unfortunately not having enough financial support, this often leads to the parent being deemed by the state as incapable of caring for their children and thereby forcing them into the foster care system. It is worth noting it is the state that is to blame for the system that has situated such misfortunes on black communities in terms of finances and job opportunities, better said as the lack thereof. 

Moreover, studies have tied the gatekeeping and restriction of notable support services from African-American communities as a contribution to the overrepresentation of black youth in the foster care system. One of the main support services denied would notably be affordable public housing with in-home services. Public housing is considered affordable, according to the US federal government, if it costs one-third of the household family income or less and the rent payment does not increase at exponential rates throughout the years. If African-American youth were to live in affordable housing, it would allow for systemic stability and reaping the benefits of in-home services (can be aspects such as medical assistance, transportation, housekeeping, meal preparation, or personal care) which would deem the household appropriate for them to remain in with their parent(s). Other critical support services may pertain to mental health or substance abuse, with such necessities held further and further out of arm's reach despite African-American parents notifying child welfare authorities that they need such services. Instead, the need for services that aid in rehabilitation is weaponized and used against them to deem them ineligible to care for their children, forcing more black youth into the foster care system, thus contributing to overrepresentation.

The overrepresentation of black youth in the foster care system is a consistently growing issue, therefore many wonder as to why raising awareness for such a prominent issue has not been prioritized by child services and foster care systems alike. After all, it is important for criticism of the systems tasked with the protection and proper treatment of children to be heard, therefore here at Beyond Foster Borders, we aim to heighten the voices of black youth who desire for their stories to be heard. 

In an enlightening article titled What It’s Like to Be Black in New York’s Foster Care System, Schifane Phillipeaux writes of her experience in New York’s foster care system as a young Haitian-American girl. Schifane notes the revelations that came upon her while she was in the system, connecting the discrimination and colorism she witnessed and dealt with as a result of systemic racism, weaved within the US government as well as its society, to US history in regards to the enslavement of black men, women, and children. To this, she claims, “Looking back at all the discrimination I faced growing up in the system reminds me of how it correlates to slavery by taking Black children away from their families, putting them up for sale, and the parents never seeing their kids again. At the same time, the child will go through multiple homes as a restrained person, a slave to the system.” 

Schifane Phillipeaux

Moreover, Phillipeaux seeks not solely to share her own story as a means to educate and raise awareness, but she also notably adopts an admirable sense of activism. She presents a plethora of ideas on how to improve the foster care system for the black youth who are now being lost within its cruel and unforgiving grasp. To begin, she expertly draws from her own experience and states the first step to improvement would be closing of certain foster homes, stating, “Some of these foster parents don’t deserve to be licensed. We should have a system where it’s easy for the youth to look for foster parents and have a say in which home they go into. There should be a mechanism that works with people in the community, who have a clean background check and want to work with children who go into the system, to help kids find a placement and ensure the child’s well-being is safe.” Schifane is unafraid to draw attention to the unfortunate, yet frequent, cases in which foster parents utilize the authority and power they are given and exert it over their fostered youth, allowing them to continue a cycle of neglect and abuse; she intends to break the cycle as she breaks her silence and shares her story. 

Furthermore, due to her experience in a multitude of juvenile detention homes, she makes the claim they should also be closed, with none of the establishments being exempt from this. Schifane affirms they do not serve their intended purpose, solely construed to punish misguided youth for the sake of, once again, exerting their authority and limitless ability to control those who are in more vulnerable positions. She states, “When I was put in there just for getting into a fight with a former friend, it didn’t feel warm-hearted, and I thought I was being tortured. They put you in a tiny cell, telling you when you can eat, sleep, and shower. We don’t need facilities like that for children under 18.” 

Finally, Schifane calls for the redevelopment of group homes and detention centers, instead believing in the change to homeschools and therapy centers, respectively. By altering group homes into homeschools, she aims to generate a warmer and more welcoming environment for foster youth to socialize and learn together, compared to the pressures of the public school system. Similarly, Phillipeaux seeks to promote a warm haven for foster youth by providing them access to sessions with a licensed therapist when faced with inner turmoil that may cause them to lash out. This would be a positive alternative to detention centers, which despite having a different name, are akin to torture, as Schifane affirms. 

All in all, it is important when considering the overrepresentation of black youth in the foster care system and seeking sources for accurate and stimulating information, to listen to the voices of those with experience, such as Schifane Phillipeaux among many, many others. From them, we can garner a raw sense of the obstacles faced within the system by black youth, as well as recognize a variety of intricate ideas that can deeply benefit and improve a system that is on the brink of fracturing and collapsing. We must heed their advice and take action, for this highly probable collapse will be the definite factor that will bury the stories of several mistreated black foster children. 

Some measures that can be taken to begin an upheaval of activism is, first and foremost, sharing all information and stories found of different black youth in the foster care system; amplification of stories is key to garnering more attention for an issue that has sadly yet to reach top priority in care systems. Also supporting other organizations dedicated to improving the system, such as Foster Love – Together We Rise, with either a donation of necessities or even a contribution of fund money would be a gracious step taken, as well as all non-profit organizations whether it be established or student-led (such as Beyond Foster Borders). Other kind manners would include writing or connection to youth in the system, reaching out and offering your support and aid is always helpful. Finally, for mentors or foster parents, the most advantageous offering would be to educate your child in their rich and complex historical and cultural backgrounds. 

Too often, black youth raised by white families are forced to assimilate and rid themselves of any ties to their culture and familial background to “fit in” with their “new” family, though it does nothing but harm the child’s self-image and interpretation of their history. They should feel proud of their roots and comfortable with their identity and appearance instead of being forced to erase a large portion of themselves to appease their foster family.