
Freedom
Child essay
It has been argued that the confusion
of African American
child rearing techniques with
abuse is at least partially responsible for the fact that African American
children are grossly over represented in the foster care system across the United States (2). While they make up only
15%
of the population African American
children comprise approximately 27%
of the reported cases
of abuse. Furthermore, as they progress through the system their over representation increases. Currently about 50%
of the 250,000
children in foster care are African American . This means that while only 9%
of the white
children reported for
abuse ends up in foster care, 24%
of the African American
children reported for
abuse ends up in foster care. If we take into account that African American
children are reported at a rate almost double their representation in the population in the first place, the result is that African American
children are being removed from their families at a rate that is almost five times higher than that
of white
children.(2) The literature also indicates that, in addition to coming into care more _frequently, African American
children remain in care longer and may receive fewer desirable placements than white
children (2). McCray's book "Freedom's
Child" argues that the African American preference for physical discipline not only leads to a higher rate
of reported cases
of abuse, and thus a higher rate
of initial contact with social services than white families, but that the cultural nature
of the African American preference for physical discipline results in an unwillingness on the part
of African American parents to alter their parenting styles.