Saving our African American Children in Foster Care

WHEREAS, according to federal statistics, African American children are placed in foster care at twice the rate for white children; and 

WHEREAS, a national study of child protective services by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reported that "minority children, and in particular African American children, are more likely to be in foster care placement than receive in-home services even when they have the same problems and characteristics as white children" [emphasis added]; and 

WHEREAS, most white children who enter the system are permitted to stay with their families, avoiding the emotional damage and physical risks of foster care placement, while most African American children are taken away from theirs; and 

WHEREAS, once removed from their homes, African American children remain in foster care longer, are moved more often, receive fewer services, and are less likely to be either returned home or adopted than any other children. 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the NAACP reaffirms its 2003 Resolution on Overrepresentation of African American Children in the Child Welfare and Foster Care Systems; its 2003 Resolution on The Unconstitutional Removal of African American Children from their Homes Under the Child Welfare System; its 1987 Resolution on The Adoption of Black Children; and its 1976 Resolution on Safety in Child Placement; and 

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the NAACP asks the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct a national study on the Child Welfare and Foster Care System, including the collecting of the most recent available data, disaggregated by race, national origin and gender of children involved.