Listen as Family Voices United members share their experiences with racism and discrimination in the child welfare system, their vision of an anti-racist system. Click here to listen!
Podcast Features:
Corey Best, Birth Parent National Network Member from District of Columbia
Sarah Smalls, GRAND Voices Network Member from North Virginia
Aliyah Zein, FosterClub Youth Advocate from Louisiana
Family Voices United is a campaign dedicated to ensuring the voices of those with firsthand experience are heard across the child welfare system. We bring together the voices of young people, birth parents, and relative caregivers - so we can inform other folks in the child welfare field including policymakers and other stakeholders.
A kinship caregiver, former foster youth, and parent came together for a vulnerable and urgent conversation on systemic racism and discrimination in child welfare. Not only focusing just on the intentions of those who developed the system we have, but panelists discussed their experiences with discrimination in the child welfare system and everything we as a country must do to create a fair system that serves, protects, and supports families of colors. Contact info@familyvoicesunited.org with questions.
Resources & Events mentioned on the podcast:
Generations United:
- Read Generations United racial equity toolkit for African Americans and Native American Grandfamilies to equip service providers with resources to improve culturally-appropriate supports and services.
- Coming Soon: on September 29th Generations United Annual Grandfamilies in America report will focus on grandfamilies and COVID-19, how they are facing the pandemic, and living through it together September 29th.
- Join GU on September 29th from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM (Eastern) for the virtual release of Generations United’s 2020 State of Grandfamilies Report Facing A Pandemic: Grandfamilies Living Together During COVID-19 and Thriving Beyond. Register here.
Birth Parent National Network's Opportunities:
- Read the Children's Trust Fund Alliance Commitment to Act Against Systemic Racism
- New Resource: The Birth and Foster Parent Partnership: A Relationship Building Guide and the Birth and Foster Parent Partnership a guide to having difficult conversations together and authentically.
FosterClub:
- FosterClub Executive Director Celeste Bodner authored an article in Children's Bureau Express titled Young People Need Families: Taking a Hard Look at Government’s Role in Raising Children to examine racism in the child welfare system and ways to create a more just and equitable system focused to improve the wellbeing of young people transitioning from care. Read it here.
Family Voices United
- Share your perspective with Family Voices United on how have you experienced or witnessed discrimination within the child welfare system? And how has that affected/impacted you and the families you serve/support?
- Want to get involved? Share your perspective at www.familyvoicesunited.org