Why Diversity Among Foster Parents Matters

Every September 15 through October 15, the country observes Hispanic Heritage Month—a time set aside to recognize the histories, cultures, and contributions of Hispanic and Latino communities across the United States. 

Hispanic and Latino families have shaped the greater Seattle area for generations, leaving a profound legacy of Latino-owned businesses and important community services like El Centro de la Raza, which became a lasting hub for civil rights work, education, and cultural celebration, and Sea Mar Community Health Centers, founded to bring affordable, culturally responsive healthcare to farmworkers and low-income Latino families. 

The Y values the important perspectives, experience, and knowledge of our Hispanic and Latino members, employees, and participants. 

For those of us who work in foster care, Hispanic Heritage Month is also a good moment to pause and ask a bigger question: why does it matter who our foster parents are, and where they come from?

Children in Foster Care Come From Every Community

Children enter into foster care from every background, culture, and neighborhood. Many carry with them a language, a set of traditions, favorite foods, music, and a sense of family that shaped their earliest years. When a child is placed with a family that understands and reflects that background, something important is preserved during an already disorienting time: a piece of who they are.

That's one of the reasons recruiting a diverse pool of foster parents, including more Hispanic and Latino caregivers, is such a priority. It's not about matching children to families by background alone; it's about making sure that when a cultural match is possible, it's available, and that every family we license is prepared to honor and celebrate a child's identity, heritage, and language, whether or not it mirrors their own.

By the Numbers: Diversity in Washington's Foster Care System

Washington's Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) has acknowledged that racial disproportionality in foster care remains apparent even as overall entries into care have declined. The gap between who's in care and who's licensed to care for them tells its own story.

• American Indian/Alaska Native children make up just 1.2% of Washington kids overall, but 3.9% of kids in foster care—more than three times their share of the population.
• Black children are 4.5% of Washington's child population but 6.8% of children in foster care.
• Hispanic children make up 23.9% of Washington's child population and about 23.5% of kids in foster care, nearly a quarter of all kids in care.
• Children identifying as two or more races are 8.9% of the state's kids but 17.9% of those in care.
• Only 32.4% of Washington's 4,538 licensed foster homes were identified as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC) as of the end of 2023. This means about two out of every three licensed foster homes in the state are White.

Sources: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, AFCARS, FY2023 state data; Washington State DCYF, 2025 Annual Progress and Services Report (CY2023 data).

The most recent data from DCYF also shows that Kent, Auburn, and Federal Way have the highest rates of removal, and our program is focused on growing our licensed families in South Seattle to meet those needs. 

What Diverse Foster Families Offer Kids

• Continuity and comfort. Familiar food, language, music, and traditions can be a source of stability for a child navigating a new home.
• A stronger sense of identity. Kids who see their culture reflected and respected in their foster home are better able to hold onto a healthy sense of who they are.
• Extended community connection. Diverse foster families often bring built-in ties to community, faith, and cultural organizations that can wrap around a child and their birth family.
• Better support for reunification. Shared language or cultural understanding can ease communication and trust-building with birth parents, which supports the ultimate goal of reunification whenever possible.

A Long-Standing Commitment to Inclusion

This work is an extension of values the YMCA of Greater Seattle has held for a long time. The Y has a long-standing commitment to ensuring its programs and staff reflect and welcome the full diversity of the communities it serves, and the Y Social Impact Center's Foster Care Program carries that commitment forward: recruiting caregivers from every background, equipping every licensed family to support children's cultural identities, and building a caregiver community as diverse as the kids who need it. 

How You Can Help

Whether or not you're Hispanic or Latino yourself, you can help build a foster care community that celebrates every child's heritage. If you're considering becoming a foster parent, know that your background, your traditions, and your ability to welcome a child's culture as your own are assets to the children waiting for a home. And if you're Hispanic or Latino and have ever wondered whether foster parenting is for you, this Hispanic Heritage Month is a good time to find out.