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Comparison of role perceptions of white and African American foster parents

John P Nasuti1, Reginald York, Karen Sandell

  • 1University of North Carolina at Wilmington, NC 28403-3297, USA.

Child Welfare
|March 9, 2004
PubMed

Insights

African American foster parents often feel more responsible for child-birthparent relationships and child development. This highlights a need for culturally sensitive recruitment strategies to support foster care.

Area of Science:

  • Child Welfare Research
  • Sociology of the Family
  • Cultural Competency in Social Services

Background:

  • Increasing numbers of children entering foster care in the U.S. outpace the availability of foster parents.
  • A disproportionate increase in African American children in foster care, coupled with a shortage of African American foster parents, presents a critical concern.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the role perceptions of African American and white foster parents.
  • To identify factors crucial for recruiting African American foster parents.
  • To inform culturally sensitive recruitment strategies for foster care agencies.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of role perceptions between African American and white foster parents.
  • Qualitative or quantitative data collection on foster parent experiences and expectations (specific method not detailed in abstract).

Main Results:

  • African American foster parents reported a higher sense of responsibility for facilitating relationships between foster children and their birthparents.
  • African American foster parents were more inclined to embrace roles as agency partners and emotional developers for the child.
  • Differences in role perception suggest unique strengths African American families bring to foster parenting.

Conclusions:

  • Foster care agencies must develop recruitment models that acknowledge and value the specific qualities and motivations of African American families.
  • Understanding diverse role perceptions is essential for effective recruitment and retention of foster parents, particularly within minority communities.
  • Culturally competent approaches are vital to address the needs of African American children in the foster care system.

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