Rethinking Foster Care

          Over the course of my legal career, I’ve worked with so many relatives who have struggled to get placement of their kin in foster care due to their poverty. A grandmother who didn’t have money to buy beds. A grandfather whose home wasn’t big enough to meet licensing standards. An aunt who lived out of state and lacked the resources to move. An uncle with criminal history because he couldn’t pay outstanding fees.            All too often, at the first sign that there might be an obstacle to overcome, or a challenge to navigate, the systems take the “easy” approach. It gives up on family and instead subsidizes the placement of children with strangers instead.                My mind flashed back to many of these stories after reading the New York Times’ story recounting the experiences of Ma’Khia Bryant – yet another young Black American shot by the police – in foster care. In the article, the reporters describe that after Ma’Khia was removed from her mother’s custody, the chil