Wanted: Foster parents for Hispanics
Anna Varela
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mar 19, 2007
When foster parents Rose and Bill Barrett found out that a 4-year-old coming into their home didn't speak English, they dashed to the store. The Sugar Hill couple figured they'd need a Spanish-English dictionary to back up their rusty skills.
"Our high school Spanish kicked in a little bit," said Rose Barrett. "Obviously, it was very choppy." Now, the Barretts are taking care of two Latino foster babies. They haven't started talking yet, but there's a good chance they'll go home to bilingual relatives so the couple feels an obligation to speak Spanish as well as English.
As metro Atlanta's Hispanic population has grown, so has the number of Hispanic children in foster care.
The system is already strained by a shortage of foster parents. The gap for Hispanic foster parents is even greater.
There are about 290 Latino children in foster care in metro Atlanta, according to the latest tally by state officials.
There are only about 16 Hispanic foster families in metro Atlanta.
Gwinnett County faces the biggest challenge, with about 110 Latino foster children —- nearly 20 percent of all the county's children in foster care. Though the Hispanic numbers are small —- overall, there are about 4,900 foster children in 13 metro area counties —- the percent growth is dramatic. Georgia child welfare officials are stepping up efforts to recruit Hispanic and Spanish-speaking foster parents. In Gwinnett, a support group has started a basic Spanish language class.
The goal is to ease the transition for children already going through the trauma of being separated from their family. Imagine trying to offer safety and comfort to a toddler —- or a teenager —- who doesn't understand your language.
One Central American girl in Gwinnett recalls knowing little English when she went into foster care several years ago. She was a young teen, moving in with strangers she barely understood. She said it felt like her foster parents were talking about her all the time.
"All the time I was in my bedroom because I didn't understand the language," said the girl, who asked that her name not be used to protect her privacy at school.
David Elliott, executive vice president of the Adoptive and Foster Parent Association of Georgia, understands the issue.
A few years ago, he and his wife took in five Cambodian children who didn't speak English. The Elliotts didn't know their language.
"You just did the best you can, tried to establish a routine, put food in front of them when you know they should be hungry," he said.
Michelle Mason, a member of the state board of the Adoptive and Foster Parent Association of Georgia, said the growing number of Latinos in foster care is becoming a hot topic among foster parents.
"I think the biggest challenge that we've discussed has been how to communicate with an increasing Spanishspeaking population," said Mason, a foster parent with Hispanic children in her home.
In Gwinnett, the foster parent association has started offering basic Spanish lessons for foster parents and is trying to recruit more Hispanic and Spanish-speaking people to become foster parents.
The challenges can go beyond language. Child advocates say it's ideal to place children in a familiar setting to avoid compounding the trauma of being taken from home. Even Hispanic children who speak English may be better off in a Hispanic foster home, said Maria Quintanilla, executive director of the Latino Family Institute, an adoption and foster care agency in California.
"There needs to be a commitment and a recognition that children deserve to maintain their cultural connection," said Quintanilla, who said many foster children will return to their families.
Lisa Lariscy, director of Gwinnett County's Division of Family and Children Services, said her agency hopes to boost the number of Latino foster homes to 25 percent. The agency is spreading the word through Spanishlanguage media, setting up booths at festivals and community events, and working with the Latin American Association.
In some cases, county officials have placed a Latino foster child with relatives who can't prove they live here legally. The agency will place children with such relatives if they have a stable job and home. "I think the state has struggled with that for a while, but we've been allowed to do that for several months," she said.
Tom Wilson, a state DFCS spokesman, said the state couldn't provide figures on how many foster children come from families living in the United States illegally. Many of the children were likely born in the United States, which makes them citizens entitled to services.
