Fostering Young People of a Different Race

Credit hours:

3.00

Course Summary

Especially while in foster care, a young person's care and development, should be the top concern of all supportive adults involved. Foster parents may need to take unique steps to ensure the young person's well-being if the child's cultural background is different from than their own. This means creating an intentional plan to develop a thorough respect and understanding of the young person's religion, cultural values, customs, and beliefs. As outlined in the following course, honoring a child or young person’s cultural connections, practices, and specific needs can give a young person a sense of permanency and belonging that will benefit them in emotional, mental and spiritual ways.

In this course, you can expect to learn:

Considerations to weigh before committing to becoming a parent to a young person of a different race
Actions to take to ensure children and youth in care maintain a strong sense of racial identity and connection to culture
the importance of cultural connections for children and youth in care
Strategies to minimize the impact of being placed in a home that is culturally different to a child or youth’s own identity and culture
Steps to take to make your home a bicultural home that celebrates a bicultural family

Step 1

Review the "Transracial Parenting in Foster Care and Adoption" guidebook created to help parents and children in transracial homes learn how to thrive in and celebrate their bicultural family; and for children to gain a strong sense of racial identity and cultural connections.

Step 2

Watch the following video to gain perspective of the impact living in a home outside of their own culture or ethnic background can have on a young person in foster care

Step 3

Review this booklet "In the Rainbow: Cultural Best Practices in Foster Care" created by C. Kimo Alameda, Ph. D, to learn how Hawai'i, the country's most diverse state, is mindful of the trauma youth have experienced coming into the foster care system and how to minimize the impact of being placed in a home that is culturally different to a child or youth’s own identity and culture.

Step 4

Join the discussion in the comments below to answer the following question:

What challenges have you faced, or what challenges might you anticipate facing, as a bicultural foster parent?

Step 5

Finished the module? If you are logged in as a subscribed user, take the quiz to earn your Continuing Education Credit hours and certificate!

Course Discussion

1 year 10 months ago

G.Brown said:

This is not a problem I have had

Trinadave74 said:

I worry that I won’t be able to prepare and protect her

1 year 11 months ago

ShaaleenAP said:

Normal fears. Not connecting or unintionably alienating them.

2 years 1 week ago

Ryangallipani@y... said:

I am most fearful of the challenge of having my foster child, who is biracial, ever be made to feel bullied in school or in life over the color of her skin. As a parent, you always want to protect and build your child's self-confidence to take over the world. I never want anyone to dim or attempt to lessen that confidence to where she ever feels less than most worthy of everything this world has to offer. I sometimes also worry about the hair aspect in being a father and learning how to do a little girl's hair and what products to use, but I have relatives that have biracial children and plan to look to them for support.

2 years 3 weeks ago

Jeanne said:

I think my biggest challenge was hair and skin care for my African American Children,but the last Foster Daughter I had taught me more about it .

DHedge said:

The normal concerns of any parent of am I doing this right

Packh34 said:

I was in this position during the George Floyd incident. Before that I honestly never thought that much about his color because we loved him so much. After this I was/am terrified for him as he grows up. As the mother to a grown son that loved to do donuts and got several tickets in his youth I never once thought anything about him getting them other than it made me mad at him. I never feared he would get hurt by a cop (or anyone) that may have hidden racism. This is something that terrifies me for my foster/ now Godson.

2 years 1 month ago

Minniemousemama... said:

I am fearful of not doing enough for my soon to be adopted black and Dominican child. I will do as much research as I can and work to get him involved in all the things that he wants to do. I just fear that while we live in a diverse community, there is not a very large black presence here and I don't want him to feel disconnected or like he doesn't fit in with African Americans and black youth. I am grateful however that he will always have a connection with his biological grandparents and family.

hanchettbj said:

We haven't had to deal with this yet

Hanchettdan said:

We haven’t had to deal with this yet.

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