Blogpost #11

With all of the negative aspects of the foster care system that we have seen through the readings of Dorothy Roberts in Shattered Bonds and some of the stories portrayed in the documentary "Ask Us Who We Are: Foster Care in Vermont", I was expecting more negative views of the foster care system from our guest speakers who had experienced it first hand. This was not the case, however, when both of these individuals’ stories portrayed the foster care systems as their saving grace, and the reason for where they are today. Our female guest speaker gives the foster care system credit for saving her from an unhealthy environment, in which her mother neglected her. She stated that living in a foster care setting gave her the chance at stability in her life, something she was not receiving from her young mother. Also, our male guest talked about how his experience in the foster care system gave him a sense of home and belonging. He mentions that he felt like a part of his foster family, which was an emotion he failed to feel with his adoptive family. In Dorothy Roberts’ book, she talks about the disparity that exists within the foster care and child welfare system. They are aimed at providing safety for children, but try to maintain family relations as much as possible. Richard Gelles states, “the basic flaw of the child protection system is that it has two inherently contradictory goals: protecting children and preserving families” (107). In these two cases we have seen in class with our guest speakers, it is clear that the primary goal had been to protect the children from their unfavorable situations in the home and did not focus on the preservation of these broken relationships. What happens when the best interest of the child is not taken into consideration? Is this right/fair to condemn parents for their mistakes when everyone makes mistakes?

Blog Post #11

                At first, I expected this reading to be similar to the other sections which emphasized the racial aspects of the foster care system.  I was surprised Roberts took a slightly different angle by proposing the metaphor of the system being a pendulum either toward the parental rights or the child’s rights.  This allowed her to present a different angle on the problems within foster care.  What I found most interesting was the conflicting goals of the child welfare system.  Roberts cites Richard Gelles in support of this argument.  He proclaims, “the basic flaw of the child protection system is that it has two inherently contradictory goals: protecting children and preserving families” (107).  I partially agree with this claim in situation where the child should not be returned home.  However if a child were better at home, this would both protect the home and preserve families.  His statement seems to imply that in order to protect children they must be separated from their families. 

Also, I found it interesting the high incentives the government rewards agencies who have a certain number of children adopted.  This is reminiscent of the Nelson article in which she emphasized children in adoption as a commodity.  There are serious ethical issues because the child’s well-being may be compromised for the agency’s profit.  In addition, this gives the agency motivation to not reunite the family even if it is the better option.  I can see this shift toward having children being adopted cause an even greater overload in the foster care system.  There are only so many people who are willing to adopt in the U.S. and even less that are willing to adopt from foster care.  These children may just become lost in the system rather than being returned to homes in which they are greatly wanted.

Lastly, I was surprised that simply being in the foster care system for a certain amount of time was reason enough to terminate parental rights.  The list of ridiculous tasks seems to show agencies placing irrational standards on parents.  I wonder what Minnesota’s time frame is for termination of parental rights.  A good discussion question based on this issue is:

Is it ethical for parental rights to be terminated based solely on the time their child is in the foster care system?

Reanna N.

Blogpost 10 Option 1

In the book Shattered Bonds, the author Dorothy Roberts argues that the foster care system is primarily aimed at providing services to black families that many times looks to an outsider, unfamiliar with the system, as a service that regulates and punishes poor Black families. These claims are well documented throughout the first pages of her book, where she proceeds with eye opening statistics of the child welfare system and foster care systems. Roberts claims that Blacks in the United States make up about 17 percent of the population, but nearly half of all children in foster care nationally are Black, making up 42 percent of the foster care population (8). This statistic proves that the foster care system is overwhelmingly being filled with poor Black children, who are being taken from their families and placed into the hands of the state. These statistics are alarming in cities that have large Black populations like in New York City, where Roberts states that one out of every 22 Black children living in New York City is in foster care (9). This statistic is sad and very disconcerting. This number of Black children being placed in foster care makes it clear that there is a problem with the child welfare system and that there are clearly biases that are taking place in the choices to place these children in the hands of the state, and perhaps some stereotyping of the Black population. These problems, however, do not have an easy solution. All must look past these tendencies to stereotype the impoverished Black families as “unfit parents” and “incapable to provide stable homes for their children” and understand that sometimes the best place for a child is in the care of their family and loved ones. Roberts has clearly opened my eyes to the problem that is occurring today in the foster care system in regards to Black children. 

Roberts, Dorothy E. Shattered Bonds: The Color of Child Welfare. New York: Basic, 2002. Print.

Blog post 10 Option #2

According to Roberts, the key factor which is contributing to the racial disparity in the United States foster care system is racism. She cites multiple domains in which this is present.  One fact she presents highlights the implicit bias throughout society and institutionalized racism.  It says, “Once removed from their homes, Black children remain in foster care longer, are moved more often, receive fewer services, and are less likely to be either returned home or adopted than other children” (vi).  An additional theory she presents called the “visible hypothesis” provides an explanation for why cities with smaller black populations actually have more black children in the foster care system.  “Researchers hypothesize that visibility increases the chances of minority placement because agencies are more likely to investigate underrepresented groups or because these groups lack social supports that could ward off investigation” (10).  This suggests there may be some racism contributing to the disparity.  Later she suggests some alternatives to this explanation such as that black parents are, “more likely to abuse and neglect” or that, “higher rates of poverty or unwed motherhood . . . make Black families more vulnerable to state intervention rather than from racial bias on the part of caseworkers and judges” (26).  Roberts uses many statistics in the beginning of the section to highlight racism as the main contributing factor to the racial disparity.  Therefore, she probably thinks this is underlying cause for the large black population in foster care. 

In my opinion, I think that a combination of racism, poverty, and implicit biases are contributing to the racial disparity.  The story of the mother Jornell made me reflect on how black women are portrayed in society.  I found myself recognizing how it may be easier to view black women as unfit mothers simply because of the way they are portrayed in the media.  Poverty is clearly part of the problem as well.  When families are stuck in the cycle of welfare it makes it hard to generate enough income to provide for a family.  As a secondary factor, having less money would make it harder to fight the foster care system.  There are many examples of wealthy people getting around regulations placed on others.  Lastly implicit biases rather than overt racism seem prevalent throughout Robert’s data.  She highlights this when she states, “minority children, and in particular African American children , are more likely to be in foster care placement than receive in-home services, even when they have the same problems and characteristics as white children” (17).

Reanna N.

Blog 10, Option 1

In her book, Shattered Bonds, Dorothy Roberts claims “if you came [to dependency courts] with no preconceptions about the purpose of the child welfare system, you would have to conclude that it is an institution designed to monitor, regulate, and punish poor black families” (6). Roberts uses this basis to build supporting arguments throughout her book. One of her best arguments is supported with the statistical facts including nearly half of white children placed in foster care are returned to their household within 3 months, while very few Black children every do. Also foster care is usually a long time situation for Black children when compared to Caucasians where it is usually short termed (19). This was shocking because Robert describes how the system tends to do everything in their power to have the Caucasian children to receive help in their homes, while removing a Black child from their home is usually the first option. Roberts stated “caseworkers put the least effort in keeping Black foster children in contact with their parents and return them home” (21). I was very surprised on how the statics show the how the Black children were never the priority and often got overlooked for the white foster children.  

            A really good point Robinson made was how “neglect is usually better classified as child maltreatment defined by poverty rather than maltreatment caused by poverty” (33). She states many departments’ focuses on the poor families and many times the middle class and rich are overlooked. If there is already a “flag” on these families then the government/social workers were more likely to dig deeper and react quicker and harsher to the situations.  Through the small portion of Robert’s book I have a better understanding of the discrepancies between the different races of children in the system.

Sarah B. 

Blog Post 10, Option 1

      While I knew there were a large number of black children in foster care, I was shocked at the disparities between the races as described in Dorothy Roberts’ book, Shattered Bonds. Roberts believes that the foster care system is discriminating against African American families, and writes that, “If you came [to dependency courts] with no preconceptions about the purpose of the child welfare system, you would have to conclude that it is an institution designed to monitor, regulate, and punish poor black families” (6). While that may seem like a harsh statement, she offers a lot of evidence to support her point.

         The numbers themselves are shocking: 42% of all children in foster care are black children, despite the fact that only 17% of children nationwide are black. That is a huge percentage increase. Not only are there more black children in foster care, but they also have less of a chance of being reunited with their parents (or being adopted) as compared to white children in foster care. Overall, black children remain in foster care for nearly twice as long as white children (19). Roberts notes that even when black children are reunited with their families, they have a much higher reentry rate into foster care than white children do. She also explains that the differences actually begin before the children are in foster care; when abuse or neglect is first discovered, white children often stay in the home and receive services there, whereas black children are more likely to be immediately uprooted and sent to foster care (17).  

        Roberts discusses the idea that social workers are much less likely to see African American parents as fit to take care of their children. Oftentimes, psychological evaluations are done, and they seem to look for any sign that the parent is imperfect. In some evaluations, they even interpreted the fact that parents with low income raising children shows “profound irresponsibility or delusion that was damaging to children” (40). In one case study discussed by Roberts, a mother named Jornell lost her child to foster care and did all she could to get him back. When she had supervised visits with her son, though, they noticed she had an “elevated mood and accelerated speech,” which they thought could be signs of a subtle mental disorder (rather than just a mother happy to see her son?). Additionally, they thought that she answered a parenting test too rigidly, and also noted that she had a small support network (5).  They seemed to be grasping for anything to keep Jornell from getting her son back. Roberts seems to be making the point that this would not happen with a white mother, which seems like a fairly valid conclusion given the evidence she provides in this chapter.

        Overall, this book shows a very negative side of foster care. I am interested to see how the numbers have changed (if at all) in the 10 years since this book was published!

-Rachel

Roberts, Dorothy. Shattered bonds: The color of child welfare. New York: Basic Civitas Books, 2002.

Blog post #8

1) I am extremely interested in the reunions of adoptees with their birth families and the relationships that exist after these reunions between the adoptive family, adoptee, and the birth family. Being an adoptee, I have always wondered whether it was ethical for me to want to contact my birth family for fear of hurting the wonderful relationship I have with my adoptive family. After this reunion, how would my birth family fit in with my family and what would constitute a healthy balanced relationship between the two? I feel that these are pressing questions for many adoptees and I want to seek out a generic answer for those of us adoptees that have looked into this possibility of reunion.

2) I think the ethical issues that are present in this topic all concern the rights of the individuals involved. Do adoptees have the right to search for their birth families? Do birth families have the right to privacy? Do adoptive parents have the right to decline a relationship with their child’s birth family? These are all very difficult questions to answer, but they all have to do with the personal rights that each individual is guaranteed. Who’s rights then are more powerful if all these parties’ right are in contradiction? Does the prevailing right go to the adoptee? The birth family? Or the adoptive family?

3) I am not sure where to go about finding sources for this topic. I could contact my own social worker and see if she has governmental documents concerning open adoptions and the implications that must be taken in order for a reunion to take place. Also, I would be open to reading more memoirs of reunions or blogs describing the processes that adoptees go through in their reunions.

4) I am very interested in the topic of reunion; however, I am not sure how likely I am to find enough information to write a research paper on the topic. Also, I am not sure there are enough ethical issues present here for me to make an ethical argument. On a scale of 1-10 I am sitting at a 6 on the likelihood I will use this topic as my final research topic.

5) Can anyone think of a topic close to this that could produce more results or be easier to research?

Blog Post 8

1)       I was thinking about writing on the current Korean adoption law controversy.  This law provides mothers with 7 days to decide whether to keep or relinquish their babies after birth.  I find this issue interesting because it shows how the Confucian, Korean society continues to perpetuate the societal structure.  The disagreement consists mainly between the interests of the mother and child versus that of society.  It seems as though this law would restrict the woman’s right to autonomy by forcing her to make a faster, pressured decision.  In addition it completely ignores the rights of the father.

2)      As I mentioned, I think the woman’s right to autonomy and informed consent are the key issues with this law.  It would be interesting to look at what information these mothers are provided in that 7 day span to see if they are able to make a well-educated decision.

3)      I will probably use some online blogs, and websites which discuss the issues with this law.  It is fairly contemporary so I am not sure whether I will be able to find books or movies on this topic. 

4)      I am probably at an 8 on this topic.  I am really interested by the issue, but if I find another more intriguing topic related to birthmothers I may switch.

5)      For help, I think all I need is a suggestion of possible sources.  I thought of blogs and websites, but it would be nice to have more academic writings. 

Reanna N.

Blog Post 8

For my final paper, I want to write something about the international adoption of American children. Right now, the small percentage of American children that are adopted outside of the country are mostly black or mixed race. It is believed, therefore, that racism plays a factor here – that Caucasian American families don’t want to adopt and raise black children, so those children are “sent” to other countries. Others wonder why American children are leaving the country at all, given that there are so many families here that want to adopt. Furthermore, some people believe that Americans adopt internationally due to things like famine and war, and don’t understand why Americans are “exporting” (not my term!) children when life is good in America. I’m still looking into the topic, so I’m not positive on the exact question I’d be researching, but my guess is it would be something along the lines of, “Should American children be adopted internationally?” and then I would also look at the ethics regarding the children who are being adopted (black, mixed race, handicapped; rarely healthy Caucasian). I’m not sure which rights I’d specifically be talking about, but I can definitely see some silent racism (or maybe not so silent, we’ll see!), and possibly some elements of the faces of oppression –marginalization, powerlessness, and cultural imperialism.

I think that on a scale of 1-10, I am at about a 7. I think the topic would be really interesting, but I’m afraid I won’t find much on it since it deals with such a small percentage of adoptions. But if I can find information, I would definitely like to pursue this question.  Pertman mentions this type of adoption almost in passing, and I don’t think we’ve read anything else on the topic in class, so I will definitely need to do a lot of outside research. I’m planning to look for articles in the library databases and I’ll also look and see if there has been anything on the topic in the media. I would definitely welcome any help in finding sources for this topic!

I would like to get some feedback on the scope of my topic – is it too narrow that it will be difficult to write about? Should I begin with international adoption in general and then focus specifically on the adoption of American children to other countries instead of jumping into that from the start? Also, does it seem like a strong enough ethical dilemma to write my paper on? Any ideas or suggestions would be more than welcome :)

-Rachel

Blog 8

Separation of Siblings in the Foster System

I am looking to write about the ethical issue of separating siblings in the foster system and/or separating them by being adopted (or not being adopted) by different families. I think this topic is important because there is a special bond between siblings and there might be many effects that would result in separation, especially if the children just got separated from their parents. I think there are some ethical disagreements because it would take a lot of work to keep siblings together and many times it is difficult to find foster families or adoptive parents who can support all of the siblings. I hope to examine if the foster care/adoption system should use their resources to try and keep the siblings together more often.


I intend to explore the issues on the best interest standard. What is the best interest of the child in these situations? Is it to be adopted by a loving family or be kept together with their other family? I feel this is a very difficult question to answer. Also is there a compromise to be made?


I think the sources that will be most beneficial are memoirs, personal stories, an foster system blog if they faced this situation, interview with someone who was separated from their siblings, essays, and journal articles. I believe this topic will be in many of stories of people who were in the foster system, but it probably not the main focus of the piece.  I think it will be harder to find some academic sources on this topic and would open any help in finding these sources.


On a scale of 1-10, my level is around a 8 to write a paper on this topic. I think the only drawback would be not finding enough information on the topic which would lead me to switch.


I would take any suggestions on the topic especially if your book review book had a detailed part of the effect of being separated from their siblings. Also I would take suggestions if you feel there is some part of the issue I could narrow down on or maybe broaden my search.


Sarah B.