GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Right now, there are currently 11,000 children in need of a foster home in Michigan.
May is National Foster Care Month, which is a time to acknowledge families and professionals who help children in foster care find permanent homes.
Samaritas, a non-profit in Michigan, is hosting a virtual townhall on Thursday about the importance of foster care. Additionally, they will address an issue regarding racial disparities in foster care. Children of color make up 51% of the foster care popular, but only 31% of the state population, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
Many of those children end up in foster care for an extended period of time, some aging out of the system, never being placed in a home. Trisha Sverns, the director of Samaritas Foster Care Services, says it is important to raise awareness surrounding racial disparities in the system.
“What we see on the front end, is that there are a higher number of calls on families of color,” said Sverns. “And then more of those calls get assigned to be investigated. From there more of those kids get removed by CPS. So there's bias in the system, kind of from day one. So we want to bring attention to that.”
For more information about foster care and how to become a foster parent, click here.
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