Julia Charles entered foster care at an early age and lived in a succession of foster homes until she reached age 18. Here she discusses the ways she experienced and witnessed disproportionality first hand when she was in foster care, and the impact it had on her:

I vividly recall wondering why nearly all of my foster brothers and sisters were African American. After all, weren't we a minority among children? I perceived the incongruity but I couldn’t explain it. Looking back, my experience simply reflected the disproportionality that’s systemic in foster care.




It was probably also an unfortunate consequence of that disproportionality that a number of my foster parents were Caucasian. And nothing against white people, but they generally didn't understand my culture. Whether it came down to what I wanted to eat, or how I wanted to wear my hair, most of them attached little importance to maintaining my cultural identity. These might seem like little things, but those conflicts were among the most painful episodes of my foster care experience.




I understand that children of color also tend to receive fewer services in foster care, and that was clearly my experience. As an older child in an independent living program, I couldn't understand why my white peers were getting counseling and participating in other programs, yet I wasn't. I think those services could have meant a lot to me.




Finally, looking back, I most regret having my family ties largely severed. My siblings and I all ended up in different foster homes. I did not understand - and I still don't - why I couldn't have lived with my kin. I had relatives in other states, and I had a wonderful grandmother who would have taken all of us in - if only she could have afforded it, or gotten help from the state. What a difference that could have made!