Children who cannot remain safely with their families are often placed in out-of-home care, such as foster care or with relative caregivers. Ensuring children are placed in homes that are culturally responsive to their needs can be difficult at times. On this page, you will find resources to ensure cultural humility and identity is a part of out-of-home care practice with children, birth families, and resource families.
African American Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Implications for Social Work (PDF - 62 KB)
Woods (2015)
Journal of Sociology and Social Work, 3(2)
Explores the experiences of African-American grandmothers raising grandchildren in rural areas, including financial difficulties, limited support, transportation difficulties, and other concerns. The study shows that developing education programs and other supports would have a positive influence on these kinship caregivers.
Cultural Considerations
Futures Without Violence
Encourages child welfare and other professionals to consider the unique needs of families, including kinship care families, and provide culturally specific responses to violence.
Culture & Health Literacy
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Describes how organizations, including child welfare agencies working with kinship families, can increase communication effectiveness when they recognize and work to bridge cultural differences that may contribute to miscommunication.
Fostering Young People of a Different Race
FosterClub
Emphasizes the importance of cultural connections for foster youth. This online course also provides information on how to minimize the impact of being placed in a home with a different culture.
The Importance of Cultural Competence
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for Children (2018)
Discusses how cultural competence can allow child welfare professionals to be more effective with the various and diverse parties in cases.
Partnering With Latino & Immigrant Families: Resources and Suggestions for Child Welfare Professionals (PDF - 1,465 KB)
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Social Services, Child Welfare Services Section (2015)
Discusses working with Latino and/or immigrant families in North Carolina and includes information on topics such as educating and recruiting foster families, using culturally sensitive recruitment, working with Latino foster families, using translators, and more.
Self-Assessment Checklist for Staff of Residential Programs Providing Behavioral Health Services and Supports to Children, Youth, and Their Families (PDF - 47 KB)
National Center for Cultural Competence (2013)
Presents a checklist for employees of out-of-home care programs to determine if their residential programs values cultural diversity and supports cultural and linguistic competence.
Supporting Cultural Identity for Children in Foster Care
Stafanson (2019)
Child Law Practice Today
Examines how practitioners can best support cultural identify in youth in foster care as those youth deal with trauma, changing home environments, and lower levels of social well-being.