Resources

While May is National Foster Care Awareness Month, CABWHP believes that every month should be Foster Care Awareness Month. Of the more than 513,000 children in foster care in the United States, nearly 75,000 live in California and an overwhelming 27% of California's foster children are Black. With almost 40% of Black children referred to child welfare services in 2006, the Black community must ask why our children are being referred to (and placed in) the system at such alarming rates. This issue greatly impacts the health and well-being of Black women and our families. There are new policy developments in foster care on both the state and federal levels that will help improve outcomes for the young people and families directly impacted by foster care.

If Black America was a sovereign nation it would rank 88th in infant mortality and 105th in life expectancy. Black America would also rank 16th worldwide in the number of people living with HIV.  African American women only make up 12 percent of the United States' population but account for 66 percent of new HIV infections.  The face of HIV/AIDS in America is becoming browner, younger, and more female.  Advocates and policymakers are challenging the U.S. government to heighten its efforts to fight the war on AIDS.  The FDA's recent approval of the new female condom is a step in the right direction.  We must also fund HIV-prevention efforts designed specifically for African-Americans.  Overall, we must change how the government and health organizations approach HIV-prevention efforts.