Race and Foster Care

The headlines of the nation’s newspapers, from New York to Washington to Los Angeles, blare out the same message: “D.C. Foster Care Workers Tell of Horrors,” “Foster Care System Reeling,” “Troubled Children Flood Ill-Prepared Foster Care System.” The nation’s foster-care system has been flooded with thousands of “emotionally traumatized children” who are “products of families ruined by crack, AIDS and homelessness.” Foster care agencies, using photographs and advertisements, reinforce the public’s perception that their agencies are valiantly trying to address the needs of minority children abandoned by their families and communities.

It is undoubtedly tr...