Former Foster Child Recounts Educating Carers on Cultural Needs

A woman who grew up in the care system reported that she “lost touch with basic things” while placed with numerous foster families from different cultural backgrounds. Nikita entered care in Birmingham at nine years old, living with 10 different families, only two of whom were black. She commented, “A lot of foster parents didn’t understand my cultural needs like hair, skincare, certain foods that I eat… that was really hard.” Nikita further explained, “It was more me doing the teaching about my own culture than them showing me at my age – and I found that difficult to do at nine or 10 years old.” Nikita stated that being placed in households vastly different from her usual environment led to challenges with her identity as a child. She said, “I wanted to be other people, or look a certain way because of the people I was surrounded by.” When she was 14, a social worker emphasized the importance of proper afro hair care. She remarked, “When I was offered the basic hair and skin care, I then started learning and developing and getting a better understanding of it.” Nikita is employed at Active Care Solutions (ACS) in Oldbury, West Midlands, an organization that assists in matching children in care with families who understand their cultural backgrounds. Newly released figures reveal that the number of people choosing to foster in England has been declining for the third consecutive year. The 2024 Fostering in England data, published by Ofsted, indicated there were 42,615 fostering households in England, compared to 45,370 in 2021. Organizations like ACS are working to increase the number of foster families from black and ethnic minority backgrounds. Social worker Mohammed Bashir noted that a lack of knowledge and understanding about fostering contributed to a shortage of families from ethnic backgrounds. He stated, “What we did is tap into the local community and hold awareness events. We wanted people to have the knowledge that you are able to give something back.” Foster parent Jamil Hussain stated that caring for children and understanding and respecting their backgrounds was important and rewarding. He elaborated, “Children have these additional needs, especially from an ethnic minority – the food needs to be cooked in a certain way, the meat has to be a particular type, learning how to pray.” Mr. Hussain added, “The family of the foster child would know that the child is in a foster home and is getting all his needs met, and at the same time it will help the foster child as he can relate back to his family.” Mr. Hussain mentioned that a stigma was often attached to fostering in some communities, but he wanted everyone to know how fulfilling it was. He urged, “Set aside the pressures from society and your cultural issues, just put them to one side and understand that there’s children out there that need you.” BBC Birmingham can be followed on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Information about our approach to external linking is available.