In St. Louis city, 87% of children in foster care are African American.


Only 67% of children in the general population are African American.

Disproportionality

Disproportionality in Foster Care

Disproportionality – the overrepresentation and disparate treatment of children of color in the child welfare system.

African American children are in foster care at twice their percentage in the general population. At every stage in the child welfare system they are treated differently than white children.

This problem impacts a child's well-being while in and after foster care.

There are a little over 900 children in foster care in the City of St. Louis. Eighty-seven percent of these children are African American while only 67% of the general child population are African American.

Disproportionality is a problem that St. Louis City Children’s Division, Voices for Children, the court and other local partners are working together to address for the nearly 800 African American children in foster care in St. Louis city.

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