In the State of New York, approximately 13,000 children are living in foster care. During their time in care, each child experiences an average of three placements, resulting in more than 23,000 transitions annually in the system. During these moves, children often carry all their belongings in black plastic trash bags. Although the practice is often justified by concerns relating to cost, convenience and emergency placements, media reports mention how advocates campaigning of children’s rights have long criticised this practice as degrading and unnecessary.

In December 2025, the State of New York enacted legislation requiring that children in foster care be provided with appropriate luggage. The text defines luggage as a durable container and explicitly excludes disposable bags, trash bags and cardboard boxes. Children’s possessions are described as symbols of their identity, history and inherent worth. The reform has been framed as a step towards ensuring dignity and identity in foster care transitions.

The symbolism of the trash bag

Foster care is structured around movement. With an average of three placements during a child’s time in care, their relocation becomes a routine rather than an exception. In this routine, each transition requires the child to gather and transport all their life belongings, often just getting ten minutes to do so. And here, the object used to transport their belongings cannot be seen as a neutral detail either.

A trash bag is designed to contain what is discarded. It is disposable, temporary and easily replaced. When children’s clothing, schoolwork, and personal items such as photographs are placed in such bags, the symbolism is hard to ignore. The association between trash and disposability is understood by even very young children. Moving with a bag meant specifically for that purpose sends a signal that the contents within it, and potentially the child themselves, are disposable and worthless.

Children in foster care have described this practice as humiliating, saying it made them feel ‘like me and all my things were just trash’. Such descriptions suggest that this practice does not merely cause inconvenience for the child. The way a child is treated says something about how they are regarded and that, in turn, shapes their sense of belonging. Identity is not formed in isolation. It is shaped through relationships and, in this case, institutional recognition. When moves are accompanied by symbols of disposability, the message conveyed extends to core values forming identity, dignity and self-respect.

Is identity peripheral in care?

International Child Rights law provides a framework for understanding why dignity and identity in foster care practice matter. Article 8 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) recognises a child’s right to preserve their identity. This right is not limited to name or nationality. It is seen as relational and shaped by continuity, belonging, and due recognition. Article 20 further requires that a child deprived of their family environment should receive special protection, regarding continuity in upbringing and background. This reflects the understanding that being removed from their family places those children in a particularly vulnerable position. When the state assumes responsibility for children, it also assumes responsibility for how they are treated in its care.

Although the United States, and therefore the State of New York, has not ratified the CRC, the convention is the most comprehensive and explicit articulation of International Child Rights. Its emphasis on identity, continuity and dignity provides a normative lens through which foster care practices can be assessed. If identity is to be preserved as required by the CRC, practices occurring in state care cannot be dismissed as peripheral. Thus, the way in which children’s belongings are handled when they are being moved should be considered with an obligation to preserve identity and ensure special protection.

From symbolism to recognition

The enactment of the New York State legislation signals the onset of institutional recognition of this issue. By explicitly prohibiting disposable bags during foster care transitions, the statute acknowledges that the way children’s belongings are handled carries meaning and importance. The bill gives due weight to children’s possessions, associating them with their identity, history and inherent worth. This shows that identity is preserved not only through documentation, but also through recognition in practice.

The reform does not alter the structural instability of the foster care system itself. Children will continue to experience repeated moves and disrupted continuity, and luggage alone cannot resolve these deeper challenges. However, when the state assumes responsibility for children deprived of their family environment, the obligation to preserve identity extends beyond formally documented records and family ties. It also includes the way children are treated in a system entrusted with their care. Replacing trash bags with durable luggage will not remove the problem. It does, however, recognise that identity cannot be preserved in environments that project an image of disposability.