Calif. Leaders Discuss Foster Care Reform Strategies for Black and Brown Youth

Lila Brown | California Black Media (CBM) – Before becoming a nationally recognized social justice leader and a member of California’s Mandated Reporting Taskforce, Shane Harris spent 13 years as a foster care youth after he lost both of his parents. As President of the national civil rights organization, People’s Association of Justice Advocates (PAJA), he’s aiming to solve some of the toughest challenges Black and Brown children in the foster care system face. During National Foster Care Month in May, Harris visited the Sanctuary of Hope in Los Angeles to host a roundtable meeting with current and former foster youth, many of whom, like Harris, have beat the odds and become successful professionals — government officials, social workers and community activists leading their own organizations. Sanctuary of Hope is a non-profit organization that works to empower youth through education, stabilization initiatives and the dismantling of social and economic barriers that may impede their progress. According to the federal government’s Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, there are nearly 370,000 American children and youth in foster care. Approximately 18,500 youth are emancipated from foster care without a permanent family annually and in 2021, 77% of eligible youth in...