Undergraduate Research & Scholarships

Michael Papias Social Science

Why do you live with your tia/aunt?: Making Sense of Cultural and Family Identities as a Latinx Foster Youth

In 2017, more than 690,000 children spent time in foster care, and on any given day in the US, more than 443,000 children are in foster care. One-third of all foster youth are children of color, with 93,507 children identifying as Hispanic/Latinx. People identifying as Latinx are the fastest growing group in the child welfare system. Michael will be interviewing Latinx foster youth from across California, focusing on the cultural and family identities of each participant. Familia/family, culture, and ethnic identity are cornerstones of the Latinx community, so how do Latinx foster youth navigate these spaces? The projects goal is disruption: disrupting extractive research practices, disrupting Black/white binaries, disrupting foster youth research conducted by non-foster youth researchers, and emphasizing Latinx foster youth voices.

Profile image of Michael Papias
Major: Ethnic Studies and Film, Education Minor
Mentor: Mentor: Jill Berrick, Social Welfare
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