November 26, 2024
By Sabrina Anderson and Kaylah McMillan
As teenagers, we were separated from our families and entered New York’s child welfare system. Our stories reflect the experiences of too many other children who have been – and continue to be – robbed of their homes, families and childhoods because of the foster system.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of kids pass through a system that inflicts lasting harm to generations of children and their families, disproportionately those who are Black, like us. Many are housed in institutional settings that feel more like a prison, where they face severe, isolating conditions that include a lack of privacy, strict bathroom limitations, poor quality food, and inadequate medical care — particularly mental health care — all while feeling lonely, unsafe and unloved.
The term “child welfare” makes it sound like our government is meant to take care of us, but what we endured was anything but protection. Too often, young people like us feel like just another number, without the love and support children need to grow and prosper.