OurWeekly.com
(Los Angeles)

By Shirley Hawkins
OW Staff Writer

August 8, 2006

Without a lifelong connection to a caring adult, a foster youth may be shuttled around to many foster homes. Statistics state that less than half of the youth in the system graduate from high school.

When foster youth reach the age of 18, they are “emancipated” out of the system and their foster care services are discontinued, including medical and housing.

Each year, an estimated 20,000 young people “age out” of the U. S. foster care system. Facing nowhere to go, many of these teens are literally left to fend for themselves on the streets. If they do not have extended families to turn to, a high percentage end up homeless or facing incarceration.

California has more children in foster care than any other state in the country. Sadly, the number of African American and Latin youth in the foster care system continues to be disproportionate in comparison to the African American and Latino population ratios.

Assemblymember Karen Bass (D-47), who has been lobbying for bills to improve foster care through the state legislature, said, “African-Americans make up less than 12 percent of the nation’s population, yet African-American children represent 46 percent of the children in foster care. In the state of California, nearly 30 percent of foster care youth, or 23,436, are African American even though African Americans only represent 6.7 percent of the state’s population.”

In Los Angeles County, as the state pays tribute to National Foster Care Awareness Month in May, approximately 12,805 African American children and 18,921 Latina children are relegated to the foster care system, according to statistics from the Department of Children and Family Services.

For Bass and other observers who want improvements in the foster care system, the numbers of minority children, especially African American youth, continue to be too high. Although research has not documented a racial difference in abuse and neglect, Bass stated that black children are “four times as likely as white children to be put into the child welfare system.”

Statistics also indicate that many children placed in foster care suffer from some form of serious abuse or neglect. About 30 percent of children in foster care have severe emotional, behavioral or developmental problems. Physical health problems are also common. Most children, however, show remarkable resiliency and determination to go on with their lives.

The reasons why minority children are removed from their homes by child welfare and land in foster care in such high numbers is based on a number of factors. Steven Brown, agency director for Eaggleson Family Services, which has placed approximately 1,500 African American and Latino foster care children in homes since 1994, said that a number of socio-economic factors are to blame for the numbers. “I think that by and large, the black and Latino population have a larger number of working poor and people living at or below the poverty line,” Brown observed. “That, in and of itself, lends itself to a lot of people coming in contact with the systems.”

Brown said that other contributing factors include “drugs, alcohol abuse, financial struggles and strains as well as an inability to maintain employment play a part in the disintegration of the family. Physical abuse and domestic violence between family members contribute to parents being incapable of meeting the needs of their children.”

Once in foster care, Exavier P. revealed that he was ashamed of being a foster child his whole life. “I kept it largely a secret,” said Exavier, who eventually found support at the Rowell Foster Children Positive Plan organization, a non-profit organization that helps foster youth.

Exavier recalled that his childhood was less than idyllic. “My mother was a prostitute serving jail time for her pimp, my father, when she gave birth to my twin sister and I. At six weeks old, we were delivered to the front door of Emma, my foster mother, who passed away when I was 14.”

After the death of his mother, Exavier once again returned to the foster care system. “The transition to adulthood for me and many other foster youth is the hardest part and not having parental guidance,” reflected Exavier. “Without any true guidance coupled with immaturity, I flunked out my first semester of college and wound up homeless. However, my determination to make my foster mother proud made me go back to college.”

Exavier went on to obtain two bachelor of science degrees--one in Economics and the other in Finance from the University of Illinois in Chicago. Two years later, Exavier started law school.

Leesha J. recalls being sent to foster care at the age of 16. She said that the next three years were the hardest of her life. “My foster parents were people I would not care to remember,” recalls Leesha. “I was abused a few months after turning 18 in their home. This caused a burning desire to change my life and tell my story to other foster children to let them know that you should never give up, no matter what obstacles you encounter.”

Leesha went on to graduate from California State University Long Beach where she earned a degree in Communication. She attended the University of La Verne and pursued her Master of Science degree in Leadership and Management in March of this year. “My career path is one of self-determination and achievement,” she said.

Queried as to why more African American and Latino foster and adoptive parents do not apply to adopt or become foster parents, Brown reflected, “I think there is a problem with recruitment and retention of minority foster and adoption families. The process in certifying and approving foster families is extremely lengthy and time consuming and that process in and of itself cuts out a lot of families and there is an extreme amount of red tape.”

Brown said that with the high number of African American children in foster care and/or waiting for adoption, some adoption agencies are allowing a percentage of African American children to be adopted out of the country. “I’ve done finalizations with non-African American families that have adopted African American children and personally, I don’t think I would have matched them, but due to the fact that these cases were already being processed, unless there were extenuating circumstances, there was no reason to undo the process or try to reverse it.”

“There are a lot of private, for-profit adoption agencies out there. In many cases, if an adult goes to a private adoption agency, they can choose any child they want,” said Brown. “A lot of times, you have non-minority social workers with high case loads and the cultural identity of the parents take on less of a premium.

Brown said that social workers with overloaded foster care case loads may “look the other way” in placing children in foster care or adoptive homes. “The County, in its efforts to promote permanence, have monitoring methods to track the status of children with the hopes of having them in a legal guardianship or an adoptive placement. So if you’re matching a child with a family and you have a black child on your caseload and you’re not black, they may place a black child with a Caucasian family, especially if they have extreme caseloads.”

If he could overhaul the foster care system, Brown related that he would reduce the number of cases that County social workers are currently asked to oversee. “They end up spreading themselves too thin and they are unable to do quality service for every child on the caseload,” Brown pointed out. “When you’ve got too many cases in the course of the day, you may not be able to provide the adequate attention necessary for each case.”

Brown said that African American foster care children stay in the foster care system longer, up to two years or more, whereas Caucasian children do not stay in the foster care system as long. “They are more sought after than African American children.”

For those lucky enough to “escape” the foster care system and return to the care of relatives, they find supportive services at Kinship in Action, a non-profit outreach organization founded in November 2004.

Many of the caregivers who utilize the services of Kinship Care are grandmothers or senior aunts who have been granted custody of their young relatives after the children’s parents, many of whom have succumbed to drug addiction, incarceration or mental health problems, are no longer able to care for them. The South Los Angeles-based organization provides a respite for grandmothers and caregivers where they can receive assistance in caring for the young relatives.

“A child who is looked after by a family member is most likely to become successful in adulthood,” said Aurea Montes, associate director of Kinship in Action. “There are numerous studies that indicate that children who go to foster homes are more likely to be unemployed, or end up homeless or incarcerated. But the children get more nurturing, love and interaction with their own relatives, and they’re able to keep the bond with their siblings and other family members that are important in their lives. They are more likely to go to college, more likely to find jobs, and more likely to transition into independent living.”

Wanda Ennix, 63, was one of those grandmothers who was determined that her great niece, Lanisha, 16, and great nephew, Deondre, 17, would not become permanent wards of the foster system. “Lanisha and Deondre were originally placed in foster care because their mother was on drugs,” Williams reveals. “They stayed with me when they were two and three. Then they went to stay at with their mother’s paternal grandmother, who placed them back into the foster care system at ages 8 and 9. While they were in the system, Lanisha ended up in two different foster homes, and Deondre was in three different foster homes. Deondre became rebellious because he said that in one of the foster homes, someone was making him eat soap sandwiches and the foster mother used to bump the boys’ heads together.”

Williams said she knew she had to “rescue” her young relatives from the foster care system. “The children called me and asked if they could move back with me,” said Williams, who said that the court granted her full custody. “Since they’ve been back with me, they’ve been happy--they don’t suffer abuse and they don’t have to compete with any other kids.”

Dr. David Sanders, Ph.D., who has served as director of the Department of Children and Family Services for the past three years is credited with making remarkable changes within the County of Los Angeles foster care system. Sanders, an African-American, directs an annual budget of 1.3 billion and approximately 6,967 staff. He oversees the administration of protective services, foster care, adoption and treatment for children in accordance with federal, state and regulatory requirements.

“Dr. Sanders has ensured that services are provided earlier and more directly to the biological family to prevent children from entering the foster care system,” said Andrew Henderson, who with his wife, Terilyn Henderson, is the co-founder of the adoption agency Families for Children. “He’s done an exceptional job of reversing the trend of long-term foster care and is helping to keep families together through a variety of programs.”

According to statistics from DCFS, in the past three years, mostly credited to the work of. Sanders, there have been 26 percent fewer children in foster care. In December 2002, there were 28,611 children in care as compared to 21,248 children in care in December 2005. Nearly 5,985 children have had finalized adoptions over the past three years. The average length of time from removal to finalization has been reduced from 58.6 months to 49.6 months. There has also been a 30 percent in reduction in the abuse of children in out-of-home care.

The statistics also state that the length of time children spend in foster care is 30 percent less from an average of 64.5 months in care in December 2002 to 47.3 months in care in December 2005.

A long-time champion of foster children is the star of the popular daytime television show “The Young and the Restless.” Actress Victoria Rowel, has first-hand knowledge of the foster care system--Rowell was raised in foster care for the first 18 years of her life. The multi-Emmy award winner founded The Rowell Foster Children’s Positive Plan (RFCPP), a nonprofit organization that awards scholarships in the arts, classes, sports, camps, employment aid and cultural enrichment to foster care children to help them reach their full potential. RFCPP also assists with job placement for emancipated foster youth.

Rowell has spoken on Capitol Hill to give recommendations on how to improve foster care and to speak on healthcare disparities for foster children.

Over the past decade, Rowell has sponsored hundreds of foster children through her organization. “When a child learns to do a pirouette, sing a solo or play the piano, the experience transcends the classroom by instilling confidence levels that are immeasurable,” stated Rowell, who said that her focus is to change the perceptions and bring national attention to the plight of the over 550,000 foster children in the country, many of whom have significant educational and emotional needs and who have suffered from neglect or physical and emotional trauma.

Rowell’s organization also helps to guide foster youth into a successful adulthood and to help them grow into healthy, responsible, independent individuals. “Nearly 25,000 young people emancipate or age out of foster care each year,” Rowell pointed out. “When foster children turn 18, many of these young adults are often unprepared to lead self-sustaining lives.” With its job referral component, RCFPP is committed to making the transition to adulthood one of its top priorities.”

Fox 11 news anchor Christine Devine also helps to find loving homes for foster children, a job she has done since 1994. Each Sunday and Wednesday evening at 10 p.m., Devine interviews a child seeking an adoptive home on a segment called “Wednesday’s Child.” The segment works closely with the Los Angeles’ Department of Children and Family Services and is sponsored by the Freddie Mac Foundation. “Wednesday’s Child” has helped to call attention to the need for foster and adoptive families. By sharing stories of waiting children and reaching out to prospective parents, “Wednesday’s Child” has helped nearly 1,000 youngsters find families, many of them African American or Latino. The campaign reaches beyond local airwaves to include each child on the National Adoption Center’s web site.

Henderson, who said that his agency has placed over a thousand children in foster homes, said that finding good foster and adoptive homes for African American children has been “gratifying.” “I’m in this business to save lives and to see some life sustaining changes made in the family systems,” said Henderson. Despite statistics, Henderson said that he has seen a substantial increase in African Americans wanting to adopt black children and especially an increase in single black adults seeking to adopt or become foster parents. “Adoption does not have as many barriers as there have been in the past,” he said.

Assemblymember Karen Bass has emerged as a fighter in Sacramento for foster care reform and stated in a recent speech before the state legislature that the foster care statistics for the African American community are “alarming.” “African Americans are 7 percent of the state population, and yet 30 percent of African American children are in foster care,” Bass observed.

Bass first became aware of the number of children in foster care in 1990, when she formed the non-profit Community Coalition in South Los Angeles. “When crack cocaine was introduced in the South Los Angeles community in the late 80’s, there was an explosion of foster care children,” Bass recalls. “In 1999, we started organizing a campaign for caregivers because we found out that the majority of children were being cared for by grandmothers and aunts and the relatives had a hard time receiving support.”

In an effort to bring about changes in the foster care system, Bass has been lobbying to pass 25 bills in the state senate for the improvement of the foster care system. She formed a select committee and has held hearings throughout the state where she and committee members hear moving testimony of foster children.

“All the bills are passing through committees,” said Bass. “Governor Schwarzenegger is going to put up 50 million dollars into the state budget to include support for foster children and the state legislature is planning to put 50 million into the bond package that will be for housing.”

Some of bills that Bass is lobbying for include AB2194, Independent Living Placement Services bill, which would ensure that foster youth will receive independent living services as they transition into adulthood. The bill would include former foster care youth who have aged out of the system and those who have been adopted.

AB2195, the Emergency Placement Options bill, would help keep foster youth with relatives or extended family members with emergency circumstances and require health and safety checks for placement. The bill would also develop an informational brochure and Web site to inform relativees caregivers about services and programs; and AB2216, the Child Welfare Leadership and Performance Accountability Act of 2006, would help ensure effective management and accountability for foster care agencies by building a new leadership structure.

“We wonder why kids deal drugs and get involved in gangs, it’s because many of those kids are not in a family structure, said Bass. “They are often neglected or their parents are incarcerated, so although I am all for having marches, we have to figure out the long-term strategies to getting at the root causes of these problems.”

Bass reflected, “As a community, we must begin to examine the root cause of the social and economic problems that continue to afffect the African American community. Preventing our children from entering the foster system and making sure that we improve the circumstances of current foster youth are a priority. But to continue to make these strides, we need our community to be active participants. By writing letters, sending emails and making calls to your state legislators, you can make a difference.

“This is my commitment for my tenure as as assemblywoman,” said Bass about her mission to help foster children. “I took a great step in working to transform the foster care system.”

Without the structure of a loving home and the support of concerned adults, a number of African American and Latino foster children will continue to fall through the “cracks” of soceity and lead troubled lives. Perhaps it is more important than ever that we embrace the old African proverb, “It takes a whole village to raise a child” because our society depends on it.

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