Skye’s Legacy

Supporting Cultural Identity for Children in Foster Care

This article was adapted from the presentation “Foster Youth’s Cultural Identity: An Overlooked Piece of Foster Youth Success” by Ariella Hope Stafanson, Lily Colby and Crys O’Grady, at the ABA Center on Children and the Law’s National Conference on Parent Representation, April 2019 in Tyson’s Corner, VA. This American source highlights issues parallel to Canada through an illuminating case study and compelling statistics. For children of colour, access to their culture is outlined as a right and the inclusion or exclusion of their background is explained to have a domino effect on a child’s behaviour and sense of self. “A positive cultural identity leads to ygreater self-esteem, higher education levels, better psychological adjustment, improved coping abilities, [and] decreased levels of loneliness and depression.” With this being research-proven, the call for cultural belonging becomes urgent.

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