There is a lot of talk about the subject in general. And maybe the subject in general should include WHY there are so many Children of Color in the foster pipeline, and so few POC stepping up to foster/adopt them.
bbm
at risk of going far off topic, this is a very loaded subject. Who in our society has the highest rates of poverty, homelessness, and unemployment/underemployment? Who is still suffering the monstrous economic impacts of slavery? Who is still heavily impacted by prejudice, racism, and discrimination?
Some facts:
The numbers of black children entering the foster pipeline actually decreased in 2015, and the numbers of white children entering the foster pipeline increased. However, the numbers are still far from proportionate to population.
https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFS/foster.pdf
The foster system is most aggressive about removing black and indigenous children from their homes. A higher proportion of black children (and their families) are involved in the system, compared to white, Asian, and Hispanic children and families. This goes back to the colonial and slavery roots of this country. Race and class are closely intertwined.... If you came here willingly, or were not indigenous, you are likely to do ok.
https://isreview.org/issue/91/race-and-class-us-foster-care-system
Black children make up 2/5 of the foster care numbers, but just 1/5 of the nation's population is black. Is this because black parents are worse parents? No. Struggling or downright bad parents are equally distributed among different ethnic groups. (Just as the rate of marijuana use is similar regardless of race, but a higher proportion of blacks are in jail/prison for marijuana crimes than whites). However, it means that a GREATER PROPORTION of black foster families would be needed to support these children with same-race/ethnicity foster parents. It makes sense that there would be a shortage of black families able and willing to foster or adopt, especially given these families are more likely to be struggling financially themselves. Black children, nationwide, are 2x more likely to be in foster care, while white children are less likely.
https://www.ncjfcj.org/sites/default/files/Disproportionality TAB1_0.pdf
Black kids are harder to find adoptive parents for, as well (also tied to systemic racism and prejudice that goes back to slavery). Thus, the price to adopt is much less. $36K for a white child, $18K for a black child. It is meant to encourage adoption of black children. But it reeks of systemic racism.
http://foster-care-newsletter.com/human-discount-black-children-cost-less-adopt/#.WshDSS7wbDc
I apologize to go off on this tangent. I worried about the phrase "so few POC stepping up to foster/adopt them" because the words "stepping up" implies lack of effort/care. Perhaps that is not what you intended though!