Increasing Representation of Latinx Former Foster Youth: Lessons Learned from Oral Histories

Background/Purpose

Latinx youth are overrepresented in the foster care system and are the fastest growing ethnic group with child welfare involvement. Once Latinx youth are in the foster care system, they are less likely to be placed in kinship care due to having mixed-documentation-status family members; experience longer case durations; and are more likely to age-out of foster care, compared to their non-Latinx counterparts. Once Latinx foster youth transition out of the foster care system, they experience a host of challenges including a desire to reconnect with their families, housing insecurity, unemployment, and decreased academic success.

In 2023, the Latina-led nonprofit Remarkably Us was created by a Latina former foster youth. This organization set out to amplify the lived experiences of Latinx former foster youth, particularly the lesser known successes. Guided by this desire, Remarkably Us and Dr. Mendez partnered to tell the oral histories of Latinx former foster youth. Our guiding research questions included:

What are the important life events that occurred among Latinx foster youth alumni?

What resources are needed to improve the foster care system for the Latinx community?

Methods

This Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) study utilized semi-structured Life History Calendar (LHC) interviews to document the oral histories of Latinx foster youth. LHCs included important life events named by participants and their perceptions and attitudes about each event. A visual timeline of participants’ important life events inclusive of dates, event-name, and additional relevant context, such as how it made them feel, were co-created by the researcher and participants. Individual timelines were analyzed for shared themes and events to then create a group timeline. Participants (n=12) included Latinx foster youth alumni, between the ages of 18-25 years old, from California. One 1.5-2 hour long semi-structured LHC interview was conducted, all interviews were transcribed verbatim, and analyzed in Dedoose with our community partner.

Results

Common events represented in the group timeline for Latinx former foster youth included educational successes, traumatic experiences during foster care placement, familial connection/reconnection, social worker support/unsupport, and experiences of hope and future planning. Additionally, following the interviews and timeline creation, all participants expressed a desire to continue and expand the research by connecting with other Latinx former foster youth.

Conclusions/Implications

This exploratory study aimed to address gaps in the representation among Latinx former foster youth. These results highlight how these young adults are striving to recreate a better life for themselves, countering the oft represented deficit-focus narrative. Still, the majority of participants reported experiencing some form of abuse while placed in foster care, with varying degrees of support and belief from their social workers. These details highlight the ongoing harm the child welfare system inflicts on children, despite its aim to minimize harm. Further, an unexpected outcome from this study was the desire for future opportunities to collaborate in research and advocacy efforts as a community. These results can be used to inform practice among social workers placing children in foster homes and policy guiding foster care reform.