The adultification of black girls in state care: perspectives
By Sylvia Ikomi, 2024
Fellow’s Profile
Sylvia Ikomi
Fellow’s Profile
Sylvia Ikomi
Adultification and Black Girls in State Care
Fellowship
Themes
Focus
Exploring strategies to address the adultification of Black girls in state care.
Countries
Fellowship year
2023
Supported by
Follow
Biography
I am a secondary school teacher and a higher education lecturer. I deliver continuous professional development training for teachers that is aimed at raising their awareness of the issue of adultification of Black girls within the education system.
My Fellowship is aimed at exploring the strategies that are being used in the USA to address the issue of the adultification of Black girls in state care. My interest in the adultification of Black girls that have had an adverse childhood experience has been inspired by both my personal experience and the high-profile death of Ma'Khia Bryant (a Black girl in state care in the USA) in 2021. My interest in the education attainment levels of children in state care started while I was completing my Postgraduate Certificate in Education in 2016, when I learnt about the alarming 2009 statistic of only 14% of children in state care in England obtaining the equivalent of an A* to C grade in five GCSE subjects (Department for Children Schools and Families, 2009, p.1).
I hope that my Fellowship will enrich the continuous professional development sessions that I give to professionals that work with Black girls in state care.
Ideas
Activity
Adultifying Black Girls
Through my Churchill Fellowship, I explored how Black girls are adultified in state care – from their relationships with parents to social work practices and transitions to independent living. Travelling to the USA and Canada, I engaged with researchers and practitioners, uncovering how adultification affects Black girls and identifying potential solutions. My findings highlight the need to move beyond tick-box approaches in social work and recognise the strengths Black girls develop despite these challenges. I’m now sharing these insights through CPD sessions, campaigns, and my ongoing PhD, with the hope of driving meaningful change for children affected.
By Sylvia Ikomi, 2024
Acknowledgements
Howard University who hosted me for the first half of my fellowship.
George Washington University who hosted me for the second half of my fellowship.
Disclaimer
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
Ideas
Activity
Adultifying Black Girls
Through my Churchill Fellowship, I explored how Black girls are adultified in state care – from their relationships with parents to social work practices and transitions to independent living. Travelling to the USA and Canada, I engaged with researchers and practitioners, uncovering how adultification affects Black girls and identifying potential solutions. My findings highlight the need to move beyond tick-box approaches in social work and recognise the strengths Black girls develop despite these challenges. I’m now sharing these insights through CPD sessions, campaigns, and my ongoing PhD, with the hope of driving meaningful change for children affected.
By Sylvia Ikomi, 2024
Acknowledgements
Howard University who hosted me for the first half of my fellowship.
George Washington University who hosted me for the second half of my fellowship.
Disclaimer
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
