The Intersection of Foster Care and Reproductive Justice

You are invited to join us on March 3  for a thought-provoking discussion centered on the intersection of foster care and reproductive justice.

Most of the billions of dollars spent by the U.S. child welfare system go to removing children from their homes and maintaining them in foster care. The child welfare system hides the systemic reasons for poor families’ hardships by attributing them to parental deficits and pathologies that require therapeutic remedies rather than social change.

Foster care is also marked by shocking racial disparities. In 2000, Black children made up two-fifths of the nation’s foster care population, although they represented less than one-fifth of the nation’s children. Black children were four times as likely as white children to be in foster care.

Federal child welfare policy places foster children on a “fast track” to adoption as a strategy for curing the ills of the child welfare system, especially reducing the enormous foster care population. Reproductive justice advocates should work to radically transform the child welfare system into one that generously and non-coercively supports families instead of tearing them apart

Our discussion on March 3, 2024, aims to deepen our understanding of these complex dynamics and explore pathways towards greater equity and support within the foster care system. Together, let us work towards a future where all youth in foster care can thrive with autonomy, support, and dignity.

Date: March 3, 2024
Time: 11:30am
Location: Accotink UU Church Sanctuary and online via Zoom

 

 

Posted February 16, 2024