Disentangling Care and Confinement: Examining the Educational Experiences of Black Foster Youth

• In Event: Exploring Contours of Race and Culture in the Educational Lives of Youth

Abstract

Black families have historically experienced state sanctioned family separation for decades; originally via the institution of slavery and currently through the present-day child welfare system. Schools act as an agent of surveillance for the child welfare system and report more Black families for suspected child maltreatment than any other race. Black foster youth disproportionately experience disparate educational outcomes in K-12 schools such as high rates of suspension, special education placement, chronic absenteeism, and low graduation rates. This article calls for a more complex understanding of the ways that schools collude with child welfare to impact Black foster youth students. Lastly, using an intersectional lens, we seek to further analyze the role of race and the foster care identity.

Authors

• Brianna Marche' Harvey, University of California - Los Angeles

• Tyrone C. Howard, University of California - Los Angeles

• Demontea Thomspon, University of California - Los Angeles