No Home and No Acceptance: Exploring the Intersectionality of Sexual/Gender Identities (LGBTQ) and Race in the Foster Care System

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jevay Grooms
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Policy Change ◽  
Foster Youth ◽  
Foster Care System ◽  
Federal Level ◽  
Child Welfare Agencies ◽  
Youth Population ◽  
Welfare Agencies ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Care System

Black youth have been overrepresented in the U.S. foster care system for decades. This, coupled with disparities in treatment and outcomes, has forced all child welfare agencies to take note and influenced policy change, at the federal level. Recently, literature has begun to bring to light the existence of a substantial LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) foster youth population which is overrepresented and underserved. This article offers a comprehensive look at the LGBTQ foster youth population, its vulnerabilities, and its distinct needs. It further contributes to the existing body of literature by exploring the intersectionality of foster youth who identify as Black and LGBTQ.

Emancipated Foster Youth and Intimate Partner Violence: An Exploration of Risk and Protective Factors

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (23-24) ◽  
pp. 5469-5499
Author(s):  
Colleen C. Katz ◽  
Mark E. Courtney ◽  
Beth Sapiro
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Foster Care ◽  
Young Adulthood ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Foster Youth ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Foster Care System ◽  
Ipv Perpetration ◽  
Care System

Due to their high rates of parental maltreatment and violence exposure, youth in the foster care system are considered particularly vulnerable to experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) in adolescence and young adulthood. Those who have emancipated from foster care may be at a heightened risk, as they are significantly more likely to struggle in a variety of critical domains (i.e., mental health, substance use, and delinquency). This longitudinal study is the first to explore the impact of demographic, individual, family, and foster care system factors on IPV involvement for foster care alumni at age 23/24. Analyses were conducted on three waves of quantitative data from the Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth (the Midwest Study). We find that approximately 21% of the young adults in our sample were involved in some type of IPV at age 23/24, with bidirectional violence the most commonly reported form. Males were more likely than females to report IPV victimization, whereas females were more likely than males to report IPV perpetration and bidirectional violence. Young adults who reported parental IPV prior to foster care entry were more likely to be involved in bidirectionally violent partnerships than nonviolent partnerships in young adulthood, as were young adults who reported neglect by a foster caregiver and those who reported greater placement instability while in the foster care system. Anxiety at baseline increased the odds of IPV perpetration at age 23/24, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at baseline decreased the odds of IPV perpetration at age 23/24. Understanding the characteristics and experiences that place these young adults at risk for IPV will allow for more effective and targeted prevention efforts.

Voicing the system: How formerly fostered adults make meaning of the U.S. foster care system

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 1806-1824
Author(s):  
Lindsey J. Thomas ◽  
Kristina M. Scharp
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Relational Dialectics ◽  
Narrative Interviews ◽  
Relational Dialectics Theory ◽  
Foster Care System ◽  
Negative Experiences ◽  
System 1 ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Care System

The U.S. foster care system aims to provide care to children who are unable to live safely with their families of origin. Yet, fostered youth endure negative experiences before, during, and after foster care. This study investigates tensions between stated goals and experiences of foster care, from the perspective of (formerly) fostered youth. Framed by relational dialectics theory, contrapuntal analysis of 32 narrative interviews revealed two discourses that construct meaning of the foster care system: (1) Discourse of System as (a Necessary) Good aligned with stated goals, constructing the system as helpful and (2) Discourse of System as Harmful (but Necessary) competed with assumptions that foster care is helpful, constructing the system as broken. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

A child for every family? Characterizations of “adoptable” foster children in online permanency advocacy publications

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (7) ◽  
pp. 2098-2117
Author(s):  
Kristina M. Scharp ◽  
Lindsey J. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Foster Children ◽  
Relational Dialectics ◽  
Relational Dialectics Theory ◽  
Adoptive Families ◽  
Foster Care System ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Adoption Agency ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Care System

Despite the prevalence of children in need of adoption from the U.S. foster care system, only one of every 28 individuals who contact an adoption agency adopt from foster care. In response, adoption professionals create photolistings to maximize the pool of available prospective adoptive families and enhance the visibility of fostered youth. Yet, creating photolistings is challenging because professionals must navigate helping to place children without exploiting or misrepresenting them. Framed by relational dialectics theory, a contrapuntal analysis of 104 photolistings examined the discursive tensions of what it means to be an “adoptable” child. Findings revealed three discourses that constitute meaning: (1) discourse of child as unadoptable, (2) discourse of child as special, and (3) discourse of child as typical. The findings illustrate triadic interplay of all three discourses, wherein framing a child as special and/or typical counters culturally pervasive and damaging assumptions that fostered youth might be unadoptable or less adoptable than other children. Theoretical, methodological, and practical applications are discussed.

Foster Youth Perspectives: How Foster Youth Navigate and Mobilize Their Rights within the Foster Care System

2021 ◽  
pp. 016059762199154
Author(s):  
Jessennya Hernandez
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Foster Youth ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Legal Mobilization ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Legal Action ◽  
Foster Care System ◽  
Youth Rights ◽  
Care System

This paper explores the grounded realities of how foster youth attempt to improve their own lives by navigating the foster care system. From 2014 to 2016 in southern California, I conducted life history interviews with eight foster youth; interviewed two legal representatives; administered questionnaires to two social workers; and conducted participant observation. Referencing the California Foster Care Bill of Rights and deploying the legal mobilization model, interviews with foster youth focused on their perceptions about rights and how they seek redress for violations to their rights. Their experiences expose the system’s preoccupation with bureaucratic procedures, rather than teaching or acknowledging specific or written rights. Interlocutors aggregately experienced forty rights violations, variously responding with the following modes of action: Doing nothing; Non-Legal action; and Formal-Legal action. In all instances, their knowledge (or lack thereof) about their rights and the foster care system critically informed their actions and revealed their awareness of the power dynamics within the system. This case study centers foster youth perspectives and narratives which are important for identifying effective alternatives that ensure foster youth rights, mobilization for when rights are violated, and ultimately center their voices and power.

scholarly journals Parental drug use and racial and ethnic disproportionality in the U.S. foster care system

2020 ◽  
Vol 118 ◽  
pp. 105336
Author(s):  
Angélica Meinhofer ◽  
Erica Onuoha ◽  
Yohanis Angleró-Díaz ◽  
Katherine M. Keyes
Keyword(s):  
Foster Care ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Foster Care System ◽  
Parental Drug Use ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Care System
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