Supportive Adults May Help Young People in Foster Care Develop Healthy Racial Identities

Adults in the foster care system should also be aware of how structural biases in care or employment settings may impact youth’s development of identity. Some young people shifted their racial and ethnic identity in response to perceived societal biases, such as stereotyped messages of how specific racial and ethnic groups behave. For example, one 24-year-old young woman who changed her identity from Black to an unspecified race or ethnicity said her shift represented an effort to distance herself from the racism experienced in her foster care placement. While in care, she was prevented from styling her hair or putting on makeup because, she was told, these activities “took too long” and she would “make a mess.” Her White peers, however, experienced no such restrictions. While some respondents reported pride in their racial identity, they still felt the need to change or adjust their identity due to previous experiences with unfair treatment and stereotypes. Some youth felt obligated to change the way they identified to ensure a response from employers due to discriminatory job application practices and reported an increase in application reviews and response rates after changing their racial identity on forms.

Finally, adults can support youth’s development of racial identity by encouraging them to learn more about their racial, ethnic, or cultural heritage. Some young people changed their identity after learning new information about their history and being exposed to examples of positive cultural expression from their extended family. One participant spent time with a grandparent and learned to make traditional foods, while another conducted research (e.g., DNA ancestry test, contacting family members) to inform her shift in racial identity. Other youth reported an expansion of their cultural understanding that contributed to their identity shift after spending time in communities with people of similar racial and ethnic identities. In contrast, young people placed in communities where adults and other youth did not look or sound like them reported a sense of disconnection from their culture and sought out communities where they could explore their identity.

Young people receive messages about race and ethnicity from a variety of sources and may change their identity to align with new and evolving information. Our findings highlight the need for child welfare systems to reduce barriers faced by young people in foster care who are developing a healthy racial and ethnic identity. Interviewees suggested that child welfare agencies: 1) Help young people make positive connections with kin; and 2) train adults in cultural competency to support youth in exploring their racial identities.

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. We thank them for their support but acknowledge that the findings and conclusions presented in this report are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Foundation.

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Contributions

We thank the 29 young people who shared their experiences—both positive and negative—with us. It is only through their generosity that we were able to conduct this study and advance research and practical knowledge about youth and young adults who have been in foster care. Additionally, we thank several colleagues who provided input on early drafts, including Karin Malm and Alyssa Liehr. We also thank the Youth Research Advisors, Ramatou Diakite and Teddy Smith, as well as our colleagues at the Annie E. Casey Foundation who provided input on the project and a review of the manuscript, including Sandy Wilkie, Maria Fernanda Mata, Kimberly Spring, and Jeff Poirier.

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