This multi-phased research examined media portrayals of youth in foster care (YFC) and how those portrayals influence public perception. The first phase found that the Los Angeles public negatively perceives media portrayals and life outcomes for YFC. The mental model of YFC was mostly inaccurate. Media portrayals influenced perceptions of mental models and life outcomes, even for those who have direct experience with YFC. Phase 2 found that deliberate priming of positive media portrayals failed to change entrenched negative perceptions of life outcomes for YFC. Phase 3 was a national survey in which the American public was more likely to perceive negative media portrayals and negative life outcomes for YFC as compared to youth in adoptive care (YAC). Media portrayals and beliefs about media accuracy predicted perceptions. Higher levels of consumption of traditional media types and media genres magnified perceived differences between YFC and YAC. The respondents with a foster care-like experience in childhood skewed younger, consumed more non-traditional media, and held more positive perceptions of YFC as compared to those without personal experience.
TopIntroduction
“On any given day, on any given newsstand or television station, you can find a heartbreaking story about a child harmed while in foster care. These are inevitably followed by opinion pieces that categorically decry the child welfare system responsible for these terrible incidents. Between these periodic horror stories, the children and the many organizations that care for them are largely invisible to us, and we are left with the lingering impression that nothing good can come from the child welfare system.” – Ruth Massinga, Executive Director of Casey Family Programs, Oakland Tribune
As the quote implies, the public reacts to the social issue of foster care when the media reminds us of its existence, but despite their concern for the well-being of children, most people rate foster care as less serious and less deserving of federal funds than education or health (Leber & LeCroy, 2012). Social problems compete for the attention of the public, and the media often determines where this attention is focused (Hilgartner & Bosk, 1988), thereby influencing how the problems are perceived and how funding is distributed towards solutions. In the United States, foster care is intended to be a temporary service provided for children who are perceived to be unsafe in the care of their families; although, some youth and families are involved in the child welfare system for many years. The removal of children from their families is considered legally justified when there is confirmed abuse, severe neglect, or abandonment. There were more than 400,000 children with active cases in the child protection system in 2020 (Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau, 2021).
Although the foster care system is flawed, this chapter will not focus on systemic reform. The goal of this chapter is to address the contention that foster care is considered a less important social issue largely because of the stigma that is attached to those whose lives exist within that system. The strengths-based solution proposed herein is to reconstruct public perception of foster care to increase its relevance in policy and funding decisions and to improve the conditions for children in foster care. The individuals at the core of the foster care system are vulnerable children who are stripped of their families, homes, neighborhoods, and schools because of the conditions they were exposed to in their childhood. These children are placed into one or a series of foster homes and spend part, or all, of their formative years in social worker offices, therapist offices, and courtrooms because of the actions and decisions made by others. Except in very rare circumstances, the children did nothing to incur this transient lifestyle; yet the stigma of foster care is permanently etched into their childhoods and beyond. The negative image of foster care is socially constructed and this chapter will provide evidence that media is an important contributor to those public perceptions.
Research is needed that examines the association between media and social issues, especially those that are ignored, for the purpose of activating real change. Therefore, this chapter will share new, groundbreaking research that explores the associations between media portrayals and perceptions of youth raised in foster or adoptive care. Many readers of this chapter may doubt the novelty of the research results because they are members of the public who share the same perceptions that are reported. Yet, for those who are willing to question the source and accuracy of their existing perceptions and to reflect on the impact that those perceptions have on your interactions with others, the seeds will be planted for a demand for change in the way that those with a lived experience in foster care are portrayed in the media.
When social issues are ignored, we leave ourselves open to allowing external sources to shape our perceptions of those issues. It has been argued that the public must question the power that is bestowed upon the media during their unchecked creation and circulation of media messages as a necessary step for meaningful action (Hobbs, 2017). The results from the research described in this chapter inspired a new movement to bring awareness of how youth in foster and adoptive care are perceived by the public and to encourage media producers to demonstrate more balance in those portrayals.