What would it take for our children to be safe?

Every year, through the U.S foster care system, thousands of children are sent back into abusive homes, unnecessarily separated from their parents or even abused while in foster care. We have a system that is failing our youth, and more often than not, its affecting Black and Native families disproportionately.

This is Episode 4 of the What Would It Take Podcast. This week we’re exploring the question, What Would It Take To Keep Our Families Together?

Links to sources from this episode:

The Appeal, _Hidden foster care: all of the responsibility, none of the resources: https://theappeal.org/hidden-foster-care/

Scary Mommy article, _Transracial adoption frequently ruins lives - I say this as a White adoptive mom: https://www.scarymommy.com/national-adoption-month-white-adoptive-mom/

Marquette Law Review, _Racial Bias in American Foster Care: The National Debate: https://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5190&context=mulr

Religion News Service, _Black children in foster care need relief from systemic racism, too:https://religionnews.com/2020/06/26/black-foster-children-need-relief-from-systemic-racism-too/

Foster-to-prision pipeline video _Step Inside the circle: https://vimeo.com/398088783?ref=fb-share

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, _Federal foster care financing: How and why the current funding structure fails to meet the needs of the child welfare field: https://aspe.hhs.gov/report/federal-foster-care-financing-how-and-why-current-funding-structure-fails-meet-needs-child-welfare-field#:~:text=Title%20IV%2DE%20funds%20foster,assistance%20makes%20up%20another%2022%25.

Together we rise, _15 things you should know before fostering: https://www.togetherwerise.org/blog/things-foster-parents-should-know/

Todays Parent, _4 things I wish I'd known about foster parenting: https://www.todaysparent.com/family/parenting/what-i-wish-id-known-about-foster-parenting/