In honor of Women’s History Month, we are spotlighting 6 women who have made an impact on the foster care system in the United States.
Black children and foster care
Fredericka Douglass Sprague Perry
(August 9, 1872 – October 23, 1943)
Granddaughter of Frederick Douglass, Fredericka Douglass noticed that orphaned black children were sent to juvenile detention institutions while orphaned white children were sent to foster care. So, she got involved in the African-American women’s clubs movement to create change and support black communities, families and children. She co-founded the Missouri State Association of Colored Girls in 1923 and the Colored Big Sister Home for Girls in 1934, which provided housing for black girls ages 12 and over in foster care. Her work pushed for the integration of child welfare programs; some states were not fully integrated until 1943, the year Fredericka died.
Photo courtesy of findagrave.com
Removing labor from childhood
Grace Abbott
(November 17, 1878 – June 19, 1939).
Grace Abbott was one of the first social workers to recognize the importance of collecting data and creating policies and programs based on data. She began collecting information related to child labor, juvenile delinquency and other sociological indicators that shaped the development of social programs and laws. In 1916 while serving as the Director of the child-labor division of the U.S. Children’s Bureau (the federal agency established in 1912 that oversees foster care), she administered the first federal statute limiting the employment of children. Recognizing and establishing the policy that children deserve a childhood of education and learning – and are not a source of labor – was a key milestone in our country’s child welfare and foster care policy.
Photo courtesy of images.app.goo.gl/GZL36GfGgqzKMBmX9
Exposing and fighting unequal access to quality foster care by the faith-based NYC foster care system of the 1970s
Shirley Wilder
(1960-1999)
Shirley Wilder’s mother died when she was four leaving her with her abusive father who gave her up to state custody when she was 12. The New York City foster care system, at that time (1972) was comprised primarily of Catholic and Jewish child-caring organizations receiving public funding from the city to provide services to youth in foster care. These Catholic and Jewish organizations were considered the “good placements” and child welfare practices gave placement preference to children of matching faiths. Shirley Wilder, a black Protestant, was excluded from “good placements” and was placed in unsafe and prison-like settings. She was sexually and physically abused by other children and staff in these settings, causing her to run away and become unhoused with frequency.
In 1973 Marcia Robinson Lowry, an attorney with Legal Aid was suing the NYC foster care system on behalf of Protestant black children, who comprised 80% of the children in foster care and yet were excluded from the quality placements available in the system due to their faith. Shirley Wilder agreed to be the plaintiff representing all Protestant black children in New York City. The case faced strong opposition from faith-based child caring institutions that didn’t appreciate being accused of exclusionary practices and racism. The case was debated in court for 26 years and was never ruled on because it was subsumed by another class-action lawsuit (Marisol vs. Giuliani) filed in 1995 that aimed at and generated larger system reforms.
What became of Shirley Wilder? At the age of 14, she gave birth to her son, Lamont, who was also placed into the foster care system at the age of 4. Unfortunately, they did not stay connected as a family. The family’s generational involvement in the foster care system is the subject of the book The Lost Children of Wilder by Nina Bernstein.
Photo courtesy of bookshop.org
Creating court advocates for each child in foster care
Carmen Ray-Bettineski
(1932 – 2012)
Carmen Ray-Bettinseski was a foster parent and recognized the need for more voices at the table to advocate for children in foster care. She developed and launched such a program in January 1977 and co-founded the National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association. Now in 49 states, CASA volunteers are assigned by the court to youth and act as the eyes and ears of the court. They familiarize themselves with the child’s history, friends and family, foster care team, teachers, and community. They get to know that child and advocate for their best interest, providing their perspective to the court and they stay involved with the child’s case until it is closed by the court.
Read more about the CASA program here: https://voicesforcasachildren.org/what-is-a-casa/
Photo courtesy of nationalcasagal.org
Foster care and human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children
Dr. Celia Williamson
Dr. Williamson started her career in north Toledo, Ohio as a social worker at a community center working with children and families. While driving to work every day she would see women on the street involved in prostitution. In 1993, she spent six months on the street building relationships, interviewing women and teens, and immersing herself into the culture and system – drop off houses, pimps and customers. She used her research and clinical skills to build the first direct-service anti-trafficking program in Ohio to support victims. Now a national and international expert and professor on the subject of human trafficking, her body of work is used in college courses, she has partnered to create an evidence-based treatment model, started community-based hotlines and anti-trafficking coalitions, written anti-trafficking legislation, and currently serves as the Executive Director of the Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute at the University of Toledo. Although difficult to glean data from this illegal and underground system, the data that is available is clear – youth involved in child welfare are at high risk of becoming a victim. Because of her research, publications, and program development, the foster care system is legally required to follow practices aimed at helping detect and support victims and prevent foster youth from being trafficked and exploited.
Photo courtesy of www.gahts.com
Protecting culture and identity of youth in foster care through the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)
Sarah Kastelic (Alutiiq)
Sarah Kastelic is currently the Executive Director of the National Indian Child Welfare Association and has served in this role at a critical time when the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2023. Ms. Kastelic’s leadership, coalition building, public education and grassroots advocacy to protect ICWA was a pivotal moment in child welfare and foster care history in the United States. ICWA passed in 1978 in response to the alarmingly high frequency of Native American children being removed from their homes and placed in foster care. ICWA includes specific requirements that Tribal Leadership is involved in the decision-making processes of Native children in order to protect their culture and keep Native families together. It is considered the “gold standard of child welfare policy” and through the hard work of Ms. Kastelic and other advocacy groups ICWA was preserved by the Supreme Court’s 7-2 decision on June 15, 2023.
Photo courtesy of www.nicwa.org
