Today's topic is foster care and the perspective Dorothy Roberts portrays in Shattered Bonds: The Color of Child Welfare. Based on the evidence Roberts gives, there are some factors that might contribute to the racial disparities within the foster care system in the United States. I feel this quote from her book sums up everything she is focused around; "Today, 42 percent of all children in foster care nationwide are Black, even though Black children constitute only 17 percent of the nation's youth./ Black families are the most likely of any group to be disrupted by child protection authorities" (Roberts, p. 8). This shows how many Black children are 'saved' (harsh emphasis) by the child protection agency and what race the agency is particularly trying to help. I'm not saying that the CPA isn't saving children but I am saying not all of them need to be saved. Take the story about Devon and her family. The DCFS tore her children from her in the middle of a picnic without notice and over revenge for a complaint placed by Devon. She had a suitable house at the time and a positive future for a job based on her education. Her four kids, based on Roberts' description of the story, didn't seem like they should leave their mother.
One of the main factors Roberts talks about early on is the theory of "visibility hypothesis" which I would like to discuss. "The visibility hypothesis suggests 'that there is a higher probability for the minority children to be placed in foster care when living in a geographic area where they are relatively less represented'" (Roberts, p. 9). This is a completely new proposed hypothesis to me yet, strangely, I understand it. I grew up in an extremely white town in Northern Minnesota and I can actually relate to what Roberts talks about in this chapter. She states "that visibility increases the chances of minority placement because agencies are more likely to investigate underrepresented groups or because these groups lack social supports that could ward off investigation" (Roberts, p. 10). I believe this has to deal a lot with racism even with the thought being that during this day and age racism is less prevalent... it still is as it seems. This is most definitely racial disparity because through this hypothesis it basically means, for Black Americans, they will never fit in. I find this despicably shocking and revolting because we are all human beings, even closer we are all Americans.
Thanks for reading this short Post. 'Till next time.
-Michael
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