Ronald E. McNair Program


Revonda McCray
  SCHOOL:  Alcorn State University
  MAJOR:  Social Work
  MENTOR:   Dr. Gary Mooers
  EXPECTED GRADUATION DATE:  May 2001
  •   ORGANIZATIONS & HONORS
  • ASU Ambassador
  • Honors Student Organization
  • ASU Band-Sounds of Dyn-o-mite
  • Beaute` Noire Modeling Squad
  • Sociology/Social Work Club
  • Dean’s List Scholar-ASU
  • National Dean’s List Scholar

 
 


 

ABSTRACT

The Plight of African American Children in Foster Care


In recent years, the plight of African American children in foster care has gained considerable public attention.  The child welfare system has a funnel effect on these children:  it is easy to get them in the system and to remain in, but very difficult to get them out.  This research focuses on the plight of children, who remain in the system and  never receive the permanence every child deserves.  Practitioners and policy makers are faced with increasing demands for more effective solutions to decrease the number of African American children stuck in the system and to enhance the adoption of these children.  Listed are some proposed solutions:
  • Support services for family preservation should be established in one’s community.
  • Supportive services, such as educational, mental health, homemaking, parenting programs, and drug treatment programs should be provided.
  • Support and expand existing programs
  • Focus on preventative services designed for long-term improvements.
  • Increase financial incentives to families who adopt.
  • Efforts should be made to obtain permanent adoptive families in the least amount of time possible.
  • Child welfare systems must become more responsive and culturally relevant to the African American community.
  • To attract and retain African American adoptive families, agencies must move   beyond their usual audiences and target less traditional adoptive families.
  • Effective recruitment strategies also include using current foster and adoptive parents to recruit new ones, using the media, and focused church recruiting (such as One Church/ One Child Program).
  • Encourage more research on successful adoption and barriers to adoption.
Even though these solutions are provided not just one is the answer to improve the permanence of  African American children.