First of all, Dorothy Roberts is very critical of the foster care systems in America today. She brings forward extremely relevant arguments, but what I dislike most about her writing is that she sheds no light on things that the foster care system does right. Yes, I agree with her that the foster care system punishes poor black families, and she uses many examples and statistics to support this claim, however, I believe that there must be something that the foster care system is doing right in order for it to exist.
Roberts points out that “child maltreatment in poor families is more likely to be detected than those of middle class families” (pg. 32). The proportion of single black mothers living in poverty significantly outweighs the number of Hispanic and white mothers that also live in poverty. Also, the families living in poverty are highly monitored versus families who are not. She uses a great example of the racism in the welfare system by telling a story about a woman who was living in an apartment with her children and suffered the unexpected death of one of her children. Since the woman was living in such poor conditions, and beer cans were found in her apartment, along with her children occasionally going to school without having eaten breakfast, her other children were taken from her. She goes on to state that if a white family were to unexpectedly suffer the loss one of their children, the state would sympathize with the family. I remember plenty of times growing up and wanting to sleep in as late as I could and skipping breakfast before school. I do not believe this is neglect. Good enough example?
Roberts also points out black children often remain in foster care twice as long as white children do. She also says that the language around how Americans view poverty is corrupt. So far, her reading has exposed me to a lot of negative functions of the foster care system and how it is highly racist towards blacks. A lot of the statistics that Roberts uses are very complex and hard to understand though. I find myself re-reading many of them to comprehend the overwhelming imbalance of blacks in the foster care and welfare systems. Overall, I enjoyed the reading.
Brandon Kasper
After reading your blogpost I agreed with your first point that Roberts doesn't shed light on what the foster care system does right. She did a great job at backing up her claims that they discrminate against minorities but its always helpful to see the other side of the argument. I almost think this could of strengthened Roberts' argument by showing there is maybe LITTLE that the foster care system does right. Overall, I believe this would of helped her argument and gave the reader another point of view about the foster care system.
ReplyDeleteI think your on the right track with your second point. I too remember not getting breakfast before school but I think the thing that differs in these situations are the capability of these kids to receive breakfast. Its hard to provide for your family when living in such harsh conditions and food is not always readily available. One thing I found interesting in your post was when you brought up the fact there are more single black mothers living in poverty than Hispanic and white mothers. This might lead to the numbers and statistics Roberts brings up because there are more single black mothers to begin with which would show why so many black children are in the foster care, just a thought.
In the end, I agree witht the fact that Roberts brings up alarming statistics and I also found myself re-reading them just to comprehend. I'm curious to see what else Roberts has to say in the following reading.
Good job on your post!
Jordan Radel
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