Kids In Care: Affirmation Boxes
Written by FrameWorks Program Director, Rachel Kinder
Originally posted in Charleston Gazette. To view that article, click here.
In honor of Juneteenth this year my agency, Mission West Virginia, launched a new project focused on affirming racial identity for Black and biracial youth in foster care. The project, titled “Affirmation Boxes” is essentially care packages filled with hygiene and other items intended to affirm positive racial identity for youth who are minorities in the foster care system, just as they are in our state. Mission West Virginia has always been in the business of meeting the “extra” needs of children in care, generally needs not able to be addressed by state or grant funding. This new project is an extension of that work.
A sad fact of foster care is that children and teens often enter care (or move from place to place) with their personal belongings in plastic garbage bags. Dubbed the “unofficial luggage” of foster care, the use of trash bags is often a hastily-made decision, grabbed at the last minute by a worker whose primary thought is the safety of the children. Intentions aside, the practice is stigma-inducing and can easily lead a child to equate their self-worth with the trash bag containing all the belongings in their possession. A sad story experienced by agency, years before, involved a child who left a facility for a visit with an actual bag of trash, which had been mixed up with his garbage bag “luggage.”
Service projects have attempted to remedy this practice from time to time, with social work students or community agencies donating new or used luggage as replacement for garbage bags. And in 2010 Mission West Virginia launched the Carry-On program, a formal and organized way to coordinate luggage donations across the state. Over a decade later many bags include stuffed animals, blankets, small games and activities as well as a variety of hygiene items. It is empowering for a child moving to a new foster home without having to ask for a toothbrush, shampoo or feminine hygiene items.
The ability to evolve is one of the strong points of the Carry-On program and we soon grew our program to include seasonal donation drives, for backpacks and school supplies in the fall and summer fun activities in the summer. Our wonderful donors are adaptable as well, sewing bright pillowcases to involve a church women’s group and focusing on deodorant and feminine hygiene when we identify a need for items for teens.
What was being consistently omitted however, were hair and skincare items for Black and biracial youth. This only became apparent to me after adopting a son who is biracial and it likely does not occur to donors who are purchasing items similar to those used in their own households.
According to Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), 4% of the youth in foster care in West Virginia are Black and 7% are two or more races. This is not dissimilar to the racial makeup of West Virginia but it does show how the needs of minorities are overlooked by the greater system. Additionally it means that children in foster care are often placed with white foster families or are cared for by white staff in group or residential facilities. The hair and skin care items they are likely to be provided with are generally not a fit for their needs and the personal items may not always reflect their racial identity.
Our Affirmation project was launched to meet some of these needs. The boxes are available to children and teens in foster care, kinship/relative care and in adoptive homes. All boxes feature hair care products, body lotion, detangling brushes and skin tone bandages. Hair care products are chosen to work for most hair types but also include resources for selecting more specific products for individual children. Other items, dependent on age, may include dolls, coloring books, skin tone crayons and colored pencils, stickers and affirmation cards and journals.
At Mission West Virginia we understand the value that personal belongings hold for a child in foster care. We believe that every child in care should have their own luggage, hygiene products and personal items that affirm their identity , sense of belonging and culture. For Black children, especially those in placements without racial mirrors, this is a small part of ensuring the formation of positive identity and self-esteem.
Affirmation boxes and hair care kids are available to any children or teens currently in the foster care system, adopted or in the care of relatives or kin. To request a box, please visit: https://www.missionwv.org/affirmationbox. The website also features downloadable shopping guides and resource library listings designed for parenting Black or biracial children. For information on becoming a foster parent, visit www.missionwv.org/request-information, email fosteradopt@missionwv.org or call 304-512-0555.