In 2016, when the number of children removed from their families in the state of Arizona, USA peaked at more than 18,000, the Arizona Community Foundation gave The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com a three-year grant to support in-depth research on the topic. This report is part of that initiative and explores the racial and ethnic makeup of children in foster care, versus that of the advisory boards (Foster Care Review Boards) which are designed to "help decide the fates of children in foster care" and are meant to "mirror the races, ethnicities and income levels of the communities they serve." The report describes the disproportionality of children from racial and ethnic minorities in the foster care system and how the overwhelmingly white, Anglo-American makeup of the Foster Care Review Boards leads to cultural bias in ths sytem and can perpetuate this problem.
