Blog Post #10: Unfair System

When looking at the claims that Roberts makes, a lot of them are eye opening and infuriating.  When looking at the foster care system, Roberts states that it is “…a system designed to deal with the problems of minority families – primarily Black families – whereas the problems of white families are handled by separate and less disruptive mechanisms,” (Roberts, p. 10).  She supports this by looking at the statistics, such as “Black children are ten times more likely to be placed in foster care in New York City than white children,” (Roberts, p. 9).  She then goes on to share how unfair the system is with Devon’s story.  Devon was trying to take care of many children from extended family.  The caseworker order that she look for a bigger apartment, etc. is she wanted to keep the children.  However, Devon was being treated unprofessionally by the caseworker, and when she reported it, she believes the caseworker decided to retaliate.  The caseworker came during the middle of a picnic, picked the children up right in front of Devon and put them in car.  Devon was only handed a notice that she no longer had custody of the children (Roberts, p. 12).   From there Devon tried to send loving messages, gifts, etc., but all were sent back to her because the caseworker said it would, “confuse them,” (Roberts, p. 13).

Another point that supports Robert’s claim that the system is “designed to deal with the problems off minority families” when she talks about abuse on page 17.  She states, “White children who are abused or neglected are twice as likely as Black children to receive services in their own homes, avoiding the emotional damage and physical risks of foster care placement.  Put another way, most white children who enter the system are permitted to stay with their families, whereas most Black children are taken away from theirs,” (Roberts, p. 17).   This goes to show how unfair and unequal the treatment is from black children to white children involved in neglect or abuse.   

-Mickey N.