Foster Care Training

Institutional oppression is the systematic mistreatment of people within a social identity group. Our interactive workshop will identify common impacts of institutional oppression on families and youth in the child welfare system, as well as address experiences of grief that commonly arise within the social welfare systems, and our society at large. Participants will be challenged to consider ways in which professionals in the child welfare system collude with the institutional oppression of families in care. We will also identify and develop constructive methods to support families suffering institutional oppression.

Institutional oppression is supported and enforced by society and its institutions, solely based on individual or group membership in a social identity group. It occurs when established laws, customs, and practices systematically reflect and produce inequities based on perceived membership of targeted social identity groups. If oppressive consequences occur due to institutional laws, customs, or practices, the institution is oppressive. Those maintaining such practices, intentional or not, feed oppression. If oppressive consequences occur due to institutional laws, customs, or practices, the institution is oppressive. Our goal together, is to identify the impacts of institutional oppression on families in care as well as develop tools to best support families and youth grieving institutional oppression.

OBJECTIVES

• Learn necessary language and theory to engage conversation related to institutional oppression
• Explore and better understand the impacts of institutional oppression on families and youth in the child welfare system
• Identify constructive ways to support families grieving institutional oppression as well as develop skills to brainstorm and develop methods for continued support within professional roles
• Develop practices to unearth and challenge collusion in institutional oppression