Hair Love in Texas

Cornrows.  

Box braids.  

Puff Cuffs and headwraps.  

PCHAS foster and adoptive parents have become familiar with these terms at a recent workshop created by two members of the PCHAS staff aimed at empowering those who are parenting transracially and the children they love.  

Leah Gilliam, director of foster care and adoption states, “Our kids face a lot trauma and loss, and meeting their cultural needs is one way to make sure they feel seen, heard and valued. Our foster parents are learning about hair and skin care because this speaks to meeting the needs of the whole child. Taking the time to learn this speaks worth into children. It speaks directly to their preciousness. Our team at PCHAS put this together because they are committed to speaking preciousness into not only our kids, but our families.” 

“It is definitely a workshop, not a lecture,” says Geralda (Gee) Dukuly. “There is a lot of hands-on practice. Parents can bring children with them or practice on a mannequin head.”   

Dukuly is a senior case manager and designed the three-hour session with supervisor Bliss Jordan. As African-American women, they found themselves educating foster parents about when to shampoo a child’s hair and what sort of conditioner to use on it. “Little things can mean a lot,” Jordan says. “It’s important for foster parents to feel comfortable managing the hair of the children in their home. The kids experience so much fear and uncertainty that it’s reassuring to feel cared for in every aspect.  We aim to teach parents how to help their child embrace and enjoy their natural hair as well as learn to have confidence in loving and accepting all parts of their identity.”    

PCHAS provides foster parents with Cultural Competency Training at least once a year. This one is specifically for those parenting transracially who want to learn how to care for and style their child’s textured hair. It introduces technical and creative aspects of braiding, styling and grooming hair that is naturally curly, kinky or multi-textured. Dukuly and Jordan also discuss skin care with the families.  They plan to offer this training two more times this year in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

If you are interested in becoming a foster parent, call 800-888-1904 or contact us online.