Focal Point: Another Mother's Child

Original Air Date: April 11, 2007

Black children make up a disproportionate share of the foster care population in North Carolina. In many counties the number of black children in foster care is more than twice the number of black children in the general population

WRAL’s new Focal Point documentary, “Another Mother’s Child,” examines the issue and looks at its impact on the state. The program is hosted by WRAL news anchor David Crabtree.

Watch the Documentary

Focal Point: Another Mother's Child

Focal Point Extra

For most of her life, Mechell Thaxton bounced around from foster parents, relatives and a mother she hardly knew. But after a childhood defined by instability and struggle, Thaxton now has a permanent home, is graduating from high school and is about to go to college. Watch her story.

Online Resources

Web links are provided for informational purposes only. Views and opinions expressed on the Web sites of these organizations do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of WRAL-TV and its parent company Capitol Broadcasting Co.

2 Comments

WRAL.com welcomes your comments on this story. All comments are moderated prior to publication based on our posting guidelines. Please review them prior to posting and if your message is not approved.

2 COMMENTS

Please log in to add comment.

Latest Comments

Well said Rouse, well said. Let's take it a step further and have government mandated birth control for all women age 14-25. Think of the impact it would have on our society as a whole.

Tired Of Excuses
April 13, 2007 6:05 p.m.

Each child that enters the Foster Care system has a specific reason for being there;however, the one common denominator is the role[s] of the parent after the child enters care.Under current Federal/state rules parents are supposed to support their children while the child is in foster care but this does not happen in all cases which makes foster care for the child[ren] a financial vacation for the parent[s]. For years,we have struggled with the belief that parents want their children and therefore have routinely provided free foster care to them on the hope they would come to their senses and change the parental behavior that led to the child[ren] being in foster care. My theory as derived from years in the social welfare system is simple stated as "Families Fail because the Parents refuse to Adapt/Adjust their Behavior to Prevent Family failure". I believe more attention needs to be paid to changing the parental issues associated with children coming into Foster Care.

rouse
April 12, 2007 7:29 a.m.