Social Justice and Racial Equity
Dear TIES Community,
UCLA TIES for Families stands in solidarity with you and with Black Lives Matter to mourn and protest the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many other Black lives. We acknowledge the impact of ongoing systemic racism and inequity, and the 
multiple ways in which the children, young people, and caregivers we serve may be impacted, individually and collectively. The traumas inflicted as a result of systemic racism compound the existing losses, identity challenges and traumas already affecting the wellbeing of our children of color in foster care, kinship care, and adoption. We recognize the current events as an added layer of the ways in which African Americans and other communities of color are disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 virus and its economic 
impact, over-represented in juvenile/criminal justice and child welfare, and experiencing systemic inequities in access to quality healthcare and education. We stand together knowing full well that it is not words, but actions toward ending systemic racism that will push forward enduring change.
UCLA TIES for Families was created as a place of emotional safety and comfort for members of the foster, kinship, and adoptive community. Our multidisciplinary team re-commits to acknowledging and standing with you against these injustices. We commit to teaming with you for children and families impacted by anti-Black racism, implicit and overt. It is also our responsibility to look inward and assure that we are upholding these core values and holding ourselves accountable. We are here for you and your family as we all wrestle with difficult and uncomfortable conversations, and work to give voice to experiences of racism, support honest communication and provide healing therapeutic strategies as we navigate an actively anti-racist, trauma-responsive, and resilience-building approach forward. Thank you for your trust in UCLA TIES for Families and for joining our aspiration of moving beyond simply “stabilizing” families and helping children to “catch up” toward a vision of ensuring that all children thrive and all families flourish.
Below are resources for you and your family.
In solidarity,
The UCLA TIES for Families Leadership Team
Digital Resources
- Why All Parents Should Talk to Their Kids About Social Identity
- Embrace Race - A list of webinars, action items, books, etc. Some webinars include “Supporting Kids of Color in The Wake of Racialized Violence” and the upcoming “How do I make sure I’m not raising the next Amy Cooper” among many others.
- Raising Race Conscious Children - For adults to support conversations about race with children.
- George Floyd. Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. What do we tell our children? - USA Today article about unpacking the most recent murders of Black Americans.
- How to Raise a Black Son in America - TED Talk by Clint Smith from 2018.
- Talking to Children After Racial Incidents - Interview with Dr. Howard Stevenson.
- Talking to Kids About the Riots, Racism, and Law Enforcement (In Light of George Floyd’s Killing in Minneapolis) - Betsy Brown Braun.
- Pact: An Adoption Alliance on Talking about Race, Racism and Transracial/Interracial Adoption.
Books
- All Are Welcome
- Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story About Racial Injustice
- Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness (Ordinary Terrible Things)
- It's Trevor Noah! Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood (Adapted for Young Readers) -
- Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race
- Raising White Kids: Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America
- How to Be an Antiracist
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Race
Aritlces and Other Media
- Taking an Active Role - Immediate steps that psychologists can take to engage in anti-racist work; by Elizabeth Ollen, PhD & Alex Bettis, PhD
- A short video on systemic racism - A closer look at what systemic racism is, and how we can solve it by Act.tv
