ABSTRACT
Increasing attention must be given to the psychosocial needs of families with HIV-infected mothers, especially as it relates to permanency planning for children who survive their infected parent(s). Since these families are disproportionately African-American, developing culturally-appropriate services is paramount. Norwood (1988) projected between 52,272 and 72,000 uninfected children will be orphaned in New York City. In Michigan, to understand this problem better, a retrospective chart review utilizing Norwood's model was performed of the families of the 83 infants whose cord blood was positive for maternal HIV antibodies or who were congenitally infected with HIV.
These data have important implications for permanency planning which are presented in the context of their impact on the African-American community. Historically, child welfare has not served African-American children well. A family-centered approach is applied in examining the permanency planning challenges raised.
