“Hidden foster care” is an increasingly common and informal arrangement in which relatives are encouraged by child protection agencies to bypass juvenile court and care for children outside of formal foster care. In hidden foster care cases, families do not receive the resources, financial supports, legal protections, safety checks, and pathways to family reunification that agencies are required to provide in formal foster care. And, this process does nothing to alleviate the disproportionate child welfare system contact experienced by communities of color because hidden foster care still effectuates the separation of children from their parents. By relieving themselves of the responsibility to ensure that a child resides in a safe, stable home, child welfare agencies leave young people in these communities to suffer unjust consequences — creating trauma and disrupting vital familial relationships and support networks.
In recent years, the Alliance and other California child welfare partners have been advocating for and supporting impacted families in efforts to address the adverse effects of hidden foster care.
Alliance for Children’s Rights Policy Associate David Noble recently contributed to an op-ed article in The Imprint by Aubrey Edwards-Luce of First Focus on Children about how hidden foster care can harm children and parents of color.
Read the op-ed here.
