Re: recruitment of minority foster/adoptive parents

["vernon carter" <vbrooks@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear Mr. Higgins -
As you say - Matching placements by race: "ameliorates trauma."  Is probably
a good dissertation topic. I don't think as you say that it has been
established in the literature. That said you might find interesting a
Connecticut study by Kluger, Fein and Maluccio (1988) that examined data
collected on January 1, 1985 on "all 779 children in long term foster care
in the state of  Connecticut" that year (p.5). The citation is Kluger, M.
Fein, E. & Maluccio, A. (1988). Children in Long-Term Foster Care - Neglect,
Abuse, and Other Issues. US Department of Health and Humans Services (Grant
# 90-CA-1283).
The authors compared the placement of children in same race placements with
transracial placements. They found many similarities between the foster
parents. One difference between same race and the transracial foster
placements was the attitude toward biological parents visiting with their
children. Same race foster parents were split in there attitudes towards
parental visitation: half encouraging and half discouraging. The transracial
foster parents were more likely to discourage visitation or feel that it
didn't matter. Kluger et al utilized discriminant analysis to examine their
data. I think it has been established in the literature that parental
visitation is generally very positive for foster children and that contact
with one's parents would serve to ameliorate trauma.

Finally, Mr. Higgins, Kluger et al. (1988) did find that "children in
transracial placements appeared to be functioning as well as did children in
same race homes did....Consistent with these findings, other researchers
have found no differences in transracial and same race adopted children in
their adjustment and sense of identity (Barth, et al., 1986; Feigelman &
Silverman; Festinger, 1986)" (p. 71). There are others who would rebut this
perspective. If you have an interest in such reading, please contact me.

Vernon Brooks Carter, MSW
New Hampshire Public Defender
----- Original Message -----
From: bill higgins <bill_higginsus@yahoo.com>
To: Child Maltreatment Researchers
<CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, June 04, 2002 2:37 PM
Subject: Re: recruitment of minority foster/adoptive parents


> Who said race doesn't matter?  You are assuming that
> matching placements by race "ameliorates trauma."  Is
> this actually true?  I don't think this has been
> established in the literature. Please correct me if
> you think otherwise.
>
> Bill
>
>
> --- vernon carter <vbrooks@nh.ultranet.com> wrote:
> > It is fascinating to me, how we all bring our own
> > understanding /perspective
> > to a reading. Shirley Wilder is the name of the
> > child who could not receive
> > appropriate services from CPS in NYC. What I got
> > from an article by Rosner &
> > Markovitz, (1997) is that the NYC CPS system is and
> > has been since its
> > inception rife with racism. Any efforts that could
> > ameliorate the trauma
> > that children of color experience when they are
> > removed from their homes
> > would be a move in the right direction. This idea
> > that race doesn't matter,
> > frankly offends me.
> >
> > I know that R.P. Barth feels that efforts to find
> > minority foster homes is
> > not that answer for children of color who are
> > lingering in foster care. But
> > Jonson-Reid and Barth (2000) also feel that African
> > American children are
> > best left in foster care rather than return them to
> > abusive and neglect
> > situations. Unfortunately, it has to be pointed out
> > that 68% of all children
> > in care are there because of neglect and not abuse
> > (Takayama & Wolfe, 1998).
> >
> > We are a society that is racially polarized. Some
> > communities are as
> > segregated today, as they were 80 years ago. In the
> > cities of New York and
> > Chicago, African American and Caucasians live in
> > communities that are no
> > more integrated today than they were in the 1920s -
> > when African Americans
> > began immigrating from the South in large numbers
> > (Christian Science
> > Monitor, March 14, 2001).
> >
> > Here are two articles you might find to be helpful.
> >
> > Fagan. P. (1995). Why serious welfare reform must
> > include serious adoption
> > reform. The Heritage Foundation Backgrounder No.
> > 1045. [Online]. Available:
> >
> http://www.frc.org/heritage/library/categories/healthwel/bg1045.html
> >
> > Briggs, H. (October 1994) Promoting adoptions by
> > foster parents through an
> > inner-city organization. Research On Social Work
> > Practice, 4, (4), 497-509.
> >
> > Vernon Brooks Carter, MSW (former CPSW worker)
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: <dw432@columbia.edu>
> > To: Child Maltreatment Researchers
> > <CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu>
> > Sent: Monday, June 03, 2002 3:36 PM
> > Subject: Re: recruitment of minority foster/adoptive
> > parents
> >
> >
> > > Arnie--
> > >      Interestingly, this policy (of placing like
> > kids with like
> > > parents) is nothing new. I just finished a book
> > "The Lost Children of
> > > Wilder: the epic struggle to change foster care"
> > written by NYT
> > > writer Nina Bernstein that gives a moving synopsis
> > of failed policies
> > > in the US foster care system (especially here in
> > NYC). Why not focus
> > > more on quality control of caring, nurturing
> > parents (which has been
> > > shown to all important to child development)
> > instead of emphasizing
> > > racial/cultural/religious orientation?
> > > --Doug Waite, MD
> > >
> > > Quoting "PRITCHARD, ARNIE"
> > <ARNIE.PRITCHARD@po.state.ct.us>:
> > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > The Connecticut Department of Children and
> > Families is
> > > > planning an
> > > > evaluation of its efforts to comply with the
> > "pool provision"
> > > > of the
> > > > Multi-ethnic Placement Act of 1994 (MEPA).  The
> > pool provision
> > > > requires any
> > > > child placement agency receiving federal funds
> > to make
> > > > diligent efforts to
> > > > recruit a pool of foster and adoptive parents
> > who are
> > > > ethnically similar to
> > > > the children whom the agency is trying to place.
> > In practice,
> > > > this means
> > > > efforts to recruit and retain foster and
> > adoptive parents from
> > > > ethnic
> > > > minorities, especially African-Americans and
> > Hispanic/Latinos.
> > > >
> > > > We would like to know of any studies either of
> > 1)efforts to
> > > > recruit minority
> > > > foster/adoptive parents in general
> > 2)specifically, studies of
> > > > efforts to
> > > > comply with the pool provisions of MEPA.
> > > >
> > > > Thank you for your attention.
> > > >
> > > > Arnie Pritchard
> > > > Quality Assurance
> > > Division
> > > > Connecticut DCF
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Doug Waite, MD
> > > New York City
> > >
> >
>
>
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