Poverty, Bias, and the Systemic Over-Removal of Black Children in Foster Care

by the Juvenile Justice Team

About This Story

This story details the disproportionate representation and negative outcomes for Black children in the foster care system. Black children, who make up about 14% of the child population, represent 22% to 23% of children in foster care and are removed from their homes at excessively high rates. This disparity is driven by the intersection of poverty, where Black families are more often labeled neglectful, and institutional bias, resulting in higher reporting and investigation rates by schools, hospitals, and law enforcement. Research shows that Black children are more likely to be removed even when compared to children at similar risk levels. The Blind Removal Pilot Program is an initiative implemented by Los Angeles County and UCLA that attempts to address bias by redacting identifying information such as race, ethnicity, and location from case files during the committee deliberation process for removal decisions. The instability caused by system involvement leads to poor educational outcomes; only about 51% of Black foster youth in LA County graduated high school on time, and their suspension rates (17%) and chronic absenteeism rates (34%) far exceed district averages. Furthermore, African-American youth who leave state care are less likely to be employed and more likely to report incarceration. Recommended solutions include providing more support to families to reduce risk factors like poverty, requiring training to reduce implicit bias, and promoting systemic transparency.

@media all and (max-width: 480px) { .et_pb_module.control-text p { font-size: 20px; } }