But that’s not all. In her comments to the Globe, Rodriguez said bluntly: “A Hispanic family cannot get away with what a white family can get away with, period.”
As the Globe reports, “Latino children are slightly more likely than Black children, and more than twice as likely as white children, to have an open case with DCF.”
DCF officials told the newspaper that its employees aren’t biased and that Latino families aren’t more likely to be accused of abuse.
Across the country, the bigger issue in the foster care system is the overrepresentation of Black children, who are 22% of the U.S. foster child population, despite representing only 14% of the total child population. The Children’s Defense Fund notes that American Indian/Alaska Native children are also “dramatically overrepresented,” and even though they represent just 1% of the overall child population, they represent 2% of the foster care population.
Across the country, the bigger issue in the foster care system is the overrepresentation of Black children.
Census numbers project that in the U.S. in 2050, 39% of children will be white and non-Hispanic. As for the other 61%, the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics’ website notes, “31% will be Hispanic; 14% will be Black, non-Hispanic; 7% will be Asian, non-Hispanic; and 9% will be non-Hispanic ‘All other races.’”
Now is the time to dismantle the racial, linguistic and cultural barriers that have long set back countless children from becoming contributing members of this country. DEI needs to be part of everything we do, especially when it comes to the care of children.
As the Children’s Defense Fund notes: “Many agencies are beginning to adopt antiracist approaches to care. To combat systemic bias and guarantee that all children receive equitable care and protection, we must begin to see system-wide reforms driven by antiracist frameworks.” That sentiment is echoed by the Children’s Bureau, which says,…
Read the full article here