FOSTERED VOICES: NARRATIVES OF U.S. FOSTER CARE A Dissertation Submitted to the Temple University Graduate Board In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY by Nikky R. Greer December 2019 Examining Committee Members: Mindie Lazarus-Black, Advisory Chair, Department of Anthropology Inmaculada Garcia-Sanchez, Department of Anthropology Paul Garrett, Department of Anthropology Caterina Roman, External Member, Department of Criminal Justice © Copyright 2019 by Nicole R. Greer All Rights Reserved ii ABSTRACT Critiques of the U.S. foster care system as “broken” span multiple disciplines, including journalism, social work, sociology, psychology, and legal studies. Foster care “brokenness” is poorly defined in these critiques but generally refers to how policies and practices fail to adequately help and support people involved with the foster care system. These disciplines approach understanding “brokenness” via a single problem (e.g., specific policies, inadequate prevention programs, family and community deficits) or measures of “outcomes” (e.g., the foster-care-to-prison-pipeline, low educational attainment for fostered youth, drug abuse). This study applied anthropological methods and theories to the problem of the system’s “brokenness.” In particular, I used participant observation, semi-structured interviews, qualitative surveys, and media and historical analyses to examine foster care as a social, political, economic, and hierarchical institution comprised of the subjects of foster care, namely fostered youth, their kin, foster parents, and foster care professionals. I conducted data collection for 46 months and relied on two fieldsites: a geographic expanse of urban and rural South Texas consisting of courts, community meetings, non- profit foster care organizations, foster care training sites, and private homes, and a digital, qualitative survey with respondents across the U.S. The local South Texas fieldsite and digital field together allowed me to collect 101 narratives of foster care. A holistic anthropological approach revealed that the premise that foster care is “broken” is flawed. The assertion of “brokenness” presumes the primary goal of foster care is to help and support families and children. Exploring what the foster care system iii actually does for and to the families, youth, foster parents, and professionals involved with the institution made clear that the system’s most basic function is to shape, control and reform its subjects into compliant neoliberal citizens. Media analysis demonstrates how persistent meta-narratives of foster care obscure the production of structural inequalities. A historical review illuminates how foster care has always been primarily a system for managing impoverished people, rather than a system for aiding families or protecting children. Ethnographic data elucidates how well-meaning and kind judges, social workers, and foster parents become unwitting participants in structural violence that subjugates kin and fostered youth and limits their resistance. iv This work is dedicated to my parents. Though there are many words ahead, none can adequately express my gratitude for all your sacrifices, and unconditional support and love. In honor of My mother, Karen Peaslee. In memory of My father, Daniel Peaslee. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my advisor Dr. Mindie Lazarus- Black for your unwavering support, kindness, thoughtfulness, and patience. Your meticulous and considerable revisions and suggestions were indispensable. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my committee, Dr. Paul Garrett and Dr. Inmaculada Garcia-Sanchez, and to Dr. Caterina Roman. Anticipating your questions and challenges was critical to this work. Thank you for your insightful feedback. I am indebted to Dr. Jill Fleuriet who has been my champion for more than a decade. Thank you for your mentorship and friendship. There are others, like Jill, who began as teachers and had lifelong impacts. This very special thank you is to you all. Dr. Timothy Brown modeled for me what limitlessness looks like and his encouragement has lasted a lifetime. Karen Mouillesseaux was the first to make me believe that I had a voice. Dr. Sue Aki’s joy for anthropology and patience for undergraduate confusion deserves academic sainthood. Thanks also to the many scholars who have bolstered me along the way: Dr. Harriett Romo, Dr. Ann Eisenberg, Dr. Bill Black, Dr. Jason Yaeger, Dr. Juris Milestone, Dr. Carrie Jo Braden, Dr. Deborah Cunningham, Dr. Beth Erhart, Dr. Raquel Marquez, Dr. Audra Diptee, Dr. Christie Rockwell, Dr. Judy Goode, Dr. Sallie Han, Dr. Rebecca Galemba, and especially Deb Wagner-Moon. I gratefully acknowledge Sheena Sood and Eryn S. Berger for their faithful edits and recommendations during the writing process. There are simply too many fellow graduate students to thank individually for being academic sounding boards and support. vi This thanks is for every meeting, casual conversation, intense kvetching session, and every word of encouragement you shared with me over the years. I hope I have returned the favor, and if not, please do not let the debt remain unreciprocated. To my children, Jeryd and Rhiannon: You have been both inspiration and fortification. Despite what we have endured together, you remain a source of comfort and motivation and never criticize me for dragging you along on my academic journey. I am prouder of you both than you will ever know, my white-cheeked gibbon and bush baby. To my husband, partner, and friend, Trinity: words cannot express my love and gratefulness. You have supported me even to the detriment of your own career. Thank you for defending and advocating for me, for your practical provision, and for having faith in me even when I lost faith in myself. To my dearest friend, Melissa Levy: thank you for your unwavering friendship, and every word of encouragement and love. They are worth more to me than I can ever express. All the family and friends who supported and rallied me: thank you. To my mother, Karen. Thank you. You germinated and watered my love of learning and have tended to my academic and personal growth through every season of my life. Thank you also to my parents(-in-law), Jack and Julie Greer. Although my father, Dan, did not survive to see me complete this work, he encourages me still. Most importantly, I thank the many individuals subject to the foster care system. Thank you to the courageous families and children who survive contact with the system and deserve better from us all. Thank you to the professionals and foster parents who strive to make the system better through your compassion and selflessness. As a society, we can and must do better. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ xii LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... xiii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ........................................................................................... xiv CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 Why Foster Care? .................................................................................................... 1 Literature Review .................................................................................................... 3 Field Sites, Methods, and Study Participants .......................................................... 9 Research Positionality, Lessons, and Burdens ...................................................... 28 Synopsis of Forthcoming Chapters ....................................................................... 34 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 35 2. FOSTER CARE, MEDIA, AND MYTHOLOGIES ................................................... 37 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 37 The Media Archetype: Individual Mythologies Converge .................................... 40 The Mythologies about Foster Care Represented in Media .................................. 42 Myths about “Poor Families” and Deviance in Media .............................. 42 Myths about “Foster Kids” and Deviance in Media .................................. 44 viii Myths about Incompetent Social Workers and Foster Parents in Media ................................................................................................... 47 Myths about the Corrupted System in Media ............................................ 49 Media Representations of Brokenness ...................................................... 51 Debunking Media Myths ....................................................................................... 53 Myth #1: “Kids End Up In Foster Care Because They Were Abused” ..............................................................................................