Cinematique focuses on serving foster and underserved youth and their families. In Washington state, kids of color, particularly Black and Native American children, are disproportionately overrepresented in the foster care system due to systemic racism in home removal, structural inequities within family support systems, and implicit bias. According to the Washington Association for Children and Families, “One cause lies in the implicit biases that many within the system have — from those who report concerns to child protective services to the police officers, social workers, and court officials who then determine the child’s fate. They may believe they have the child’s best interests at heart, but studies have revealed that subconscious prejudice plays an outsized role in their decisionmaking process.” LGBTQIA+ youth are also over-represented in the foster care system, sometimes due to family rejection, and lack affirming foster placements. LGBTQIA+ kids face the same trauma and loss when entering the foster care system, but they also face uncertainty and fear that their foster home may not be a safe place for them to live authentically. While Washington State has started making necessary systemic changes to increase support for children and families who are at risk of entering foster care to prevent removal of children in the first place, there is still an immediate need for more families.

ECOC collaborates with resource providers and organizations that also support foster and underserved youth and their families.