Hispanic heritage: The critical cultural connection foster parents must provide

Amy Lewis

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Interested in fostering or adopting a child in Arizona? Visit the Arizona Department of Child Safety’s website at dcs.az.gov/foster/learnmore.

Arizona’s foster care system is filled with children from every walk of life, yet too many of them grow up disconnected from their culture, language and heritage. For Hispanic and Latino children, who make up a significant portion of kids in care, this disconnect can run deep.

They are often placed in loving homes, but homes where Spanish isn’t spoken and where the family customs that once defined them slowly fade. These children deserve better. They deserve homes where they see themselves reflected — in the faces of their caregivers, in the foods on the table, and in the words spoken around them.

This is not just about comfort. Culture is identity, and identity is a lifeline, especially for children navigating the trauma of being removed from their homes. When a child can stay connected to their culture, they are more likely to thrive emotionally, maintain self-worth and transition back to their biological families with the same traditions and customs that ground them.

For Hispanic and Latino foster children, that might mean hearing their first language spoken daily, celebrating Día de los Muertos or attending Catholic mass with familiar rituals. These are not luxuries; they are lifelines.

As a longtime foster parent in Arizona, I understand this better than most. As a Latina, I have fostered children who not only share my cultural background but who have also faced some of the toughest challenges in the system.

Many of the kids I’ve cared for have therapeutic needs — meaning they’ve endured trauma that requires specialized care, patience and understanding. I’ve loved fostering teens, a group of children who sadly are often overlooked. Teens are among the hardest to place, often entering care after years of instability, carrying wounds that go unseen.

But I see them. I meet them where they are — with compassion and a deep understanding that they need someone in their corner, someone who won’t leave them and can guide them while honoring who they are.

The Arizona Department of Child Safety is in need of more Hispanic and Latino foster families. According to state data, there is a striking gap between the number of Hispanic and Latino children in care and the number of Hispanic and Latino foster parents available. This gap means too many children are placed far from their cultural roots. For a child who has lost their home, their family and their sense of stability, losing their culture too can feel like losing the last piece of themselves.

If you’ve ever thought about becoming a foster parent, especially if you are bilingual, Arizona’s children need you. It doesn’t require perfection — it requires love, patience and the willingness to walk alongside a child as they heal. It means opening your home and heart, cooking familiar foods, listening without judgment and helping children keep their cultural connections intact while they work toward reunification with their families.

It also means saying yes to kids who are too often turned away: teens and children with therapeutic needs. These kids don’t need rescuing, they need relationships. They need to know someone believes in them when the world has told them otherwise. I’ve learned that when children are placed with families who understand their background and speak their language — literally and figuratively — their lives can change.

Arizona’s foster children deserve homes that reflect them. They deserve the chance to grow up with their heritage intact and with adults who understand their struggles and celebrate their successes.

If you’re ready to make that difference, now is the time. The need has never been greater, and the reward of seeing a child heal and thrive is beyond measure.

Every child deserves a home where they feel they belong, and that might mean a home like yours.

Editor’s note: Amy Lewis is a therapeutic foster provider at Clarvida. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.