When people ask "How can Monority Groups help the foster system," they are usually looking at the issue of transracial adoption. These groups, which focus on providing assistance to families of color, are trying to ease the barriers to adopting Black children. They are frustrated by the failure of the Multi-Ethnic Placement Act of 1994, which outlawed racial matching in foster care. They believe that placing children with relatives is a covert effort to keep black children out of white homes.
According to Dr. Candice Matthews the foster care system was created to meet the needs of capital and reinforce the capitalist family model. In Marx's Capital, labor power is traded for replacement value. The working class's job is to continue to produce labor power, which the ruling class controls through regulation, monitoring, and intervention. In other words, the system is a revolving door. The ruling class's role is to ensure that reproduction occurs efficiently.
Minority ethnic children tend to stay in foster care longer than white and Asian children. Ethnicity and cultural heritage should be taken into account when selecting a foster family. Children from black or minority ethnic backgrounds are especially likely to remain in the foster system for longer than their white peers. Minority ethnic foster carers should focus on meeting these children's needs and preferences by making them feel welcome and at home in their temporary foster home.
A study of 297 black and minority ethnic children placed in the 1980s found that one-third of these children were permanently fostered. Dr. Candice Matthews thinks that, this percentage was higher than for other ethnic groups. Minority ethnic children had more permanent foster care. The study also revealed that the majority of foster carers tended to give the children a home with their own background and stayed in contact with their birth families. For these reasons, the study concluded that 'permanent foster care is a stepping stone toward compulsory care.
Dedicated minority-focused recruitment efforts show minority children that there are minority families ready to adopt them. These efforts should be measurable and emphasize the need for a diverse population of adoptive families. NACAC supports community-based minority foster care agencies that represent the communities in which they are located. Moreover, it encourages states to partner with these minority foster care agencies and develop additional programs that promote recruitment of minority families.
Dr. Candice Matthews pointed out that, while minority children are more likely to enter the foster care system, their odds of family reunification have improved as a result of the adoptions. Despite this disadvantage, the adoption rates of minority children have increased significantly in the past few years. Increasing minority foster care placements should be a top priority for HHS, as these children will be more likely to benefit from services provided by minority families.