Seeing Beyond our Own Time: A Celebration of African American Life and History

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Seeing Beyond our Own Time A Celebration of
African American Life and History

• A Look at Foster Care
• Ruth G. McRoy Davis

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The Covenant with Black America by Tavis Smiley

• Calls upon all parents, educators, preachers,
  social service providers, community leaders and
  policy-makers to act now and create a brighter
  future for our children.

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The Covenant addresses 10 Issues

• Health Care
• Education
• Justice
• Policing
• Affordable Neighborhoods

• Democracy
• Rural Roots
• Economic Prosperity
• Environmental Justice
• Digital Divide

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Today we will address

• Covenant XI
• Children in Foster Care

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According to AFCARS estimates for Sept. 2005

• 513,000 children in the US foster care system
• White, 41
• Black, Non-Hispanic 32
• Hispanic, 18
• AI/AN Non Hispanic 2
• Asian/PI NI Non-Hispanic 1
• Unknown 2
• Two or more races 3

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Overrepresentation

• If a particular racial/ethnic group of children
  is represented in foster care at a higher
  percentage than they are represented in the
  general population

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Disproportionality

• A situation in which a particular racial/ethnic
  group of children is represented in foster care
  at a higher percentage than other racial/ethnic
  groups
• (I.e. If 5 of all White children are in care,
  then 5 of African American, Hispanic etc.)

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U.S. Child Population under 18( in care)

• 61 White (41 in care)
• 17 Hispanic/Latino (18 in care)
• 15 African American (32 in care)
• 3 Asian American (1 in care)
• 1 American Indian/AN (2 in care)

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92,344 California children in foster Care

• California has the largest foster care population
  in the U.S.
• More than the population of Davis (64,348)
• Slightly less than the population of Roseville
  (98,359) and the population of Berkeley (102,004)

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Good News

• Number in California foster care has decreased
  by 8 from 2003 to 2005
• In 2000 there were 108,000 in foster care.

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Demographics of the 92,344 California children in
Foster Care

• 27 between 0 and 5
• 30 between 6 and 12
• 42 between 13 and 21
• Average number of months in care-- 38 months (30
  months nationally)
• 46 have experienced three or more foster care
  placements (42 nationally)
• Majority of children come into care because of
  parental neglect

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Special Challenges for Youth

• Experienced abuse and neglect
• Physical and mental health problems
• Developmental delays
• Educational difficulties
• Mild to severe psychological and behavioral
  difficulties
• Multiple moves/losses
• Sibling and other family connections
• Concerns/Fears about adoption

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Californias foster children

• 47,429 waiting to be reunified
• 5 or 4,852 waiting to be adopted
• Avg. time foster care children have been
• waiting to be adopted-- 46 months (42 months
  nationally)

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AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN IN CARE IN CALIFORNIA

• African American children represent 6.7 of the
  under 17 population.
• But represent 29 of those in social services
  care
• 23,436 children in care are African American
• 32 OUT OF EVERY 1000 African American children in
  California are in foster care

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Black kids more often taken from families by
social workers

• Recent news headline
• Santa Clara CountyBlack children represented
  only 2.4 of the population younger than 17 in
  the county, but accounted for 12.8 percent of
  children in the child welfare system in 2005,
  more than 7 times the rate of White children.

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Needell, Brookhart, Lee (2003)

• Needell, Brookhart, Lee (2003) found that Black
  children in California are more likely than White
  or Hispanic children to be removed from their
  caretaker and placed in care, even when age,
  reason for maltreatment, neighborhood poverty are
  taken into account.

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County Data

• Alameda County
• 15 of child population is Black
• 67 of children in care are Black
• Contra Costa County
• 11 of Child population is Black
• 46 of children in care are Black
• Solano County
• 17 of child population is Black
• 40 of children in care are Black

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Annually about 11 or 4,535 California children
exit care at 18 or older

• Another 7 (2,877) leave for other reasons
• Including running away, transfer, or death

19
Nationally, about 20,000 children age out of
foster care with no place to go.

• Former foster children are 22 times more likely
  to be homeless than peers and one-third end up
  poor.

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Child Welfare Decision Point Analysis

• Identify points where change in representation
  occurs
• Report/no report
• Investigation/no investigation
• Substantiation/no substantiation
• Case closed/no services/in home services/out of
  home care (kin,foster)
• Reunification/adoption/remain in care or age out

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Percent of African American vs. White Children
in population, victims, entering foster care, in
foster care, and waiting for adoption
Child Maltreatment 2002 http//www.acf.hhs.gov/pr
ograms/cb/publications/cm02/index.htm, p.
23 National Adoption and Foster Care Statistics
http//www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/dis/afcars/publ
ications/afcars.htm Estimates based on AFCARS
data 3/04
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African American children in California

• Are more likely than White or Latino children to
  be reported for abuse, and more likely to be
  placed in foster care, particularly if they are
  infants. They are less likely to be reunified and
  adopted than children of other races (Needell, et
  al, 2004).

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Possible Explanations

• Disproportionate need
• Societal discriminatory practices over which the
  child welfare systems have little or no control.
• Discriminatory practices within the child welfare
  system (Needell, et al. 2003).

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Considerations in Disproportionality

• Poverty
• Lindsey (1991) and Pelton (1989)
• Parental income is the best predictor of child
  removal and placement
• Majority of children in care from single parent,
  low-income households.

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Differential attributions and labeling bias

• Physicians may be more likely to attribute injury
  to abuse in lower income homes.

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(Pelton, 1989, pp. 52-53)

• The reason for placement is that the family,
  frequently due to poverty does not have the
  resources to offset the impact of situational or
  personal problems which themselves are often
  caused by poverty, and the agencies have failed
  to provide the needed supports, such as baby
  sitting, homemaking, day care, financial
  assistance, and housing assistance.

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In California

• 1 in 5 children lives in a household that earns
  less than the federal poverty level (16,600 per
  year for a family of three).
• 1 in 3 African American, Latino and Native
  American children, ages 5 and younger, lives in a
  very low-income family.
• One in 12 White children lives in a very low
  income family.

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Neglect

• Often product of poverty
• Parents under scrutiny/more likely to be reported

29
According to The State of Black California

• Black poverty rate is 22.4 compared to the White
  poverty rate at 8.
• 33.9 of Black children live in two parent
  families as compared to 72 of White children.
• Blacks higher in felony arrests, misdemeanor
  arrests, homicide rates for males and females
  higher in school dropout rates

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The State of Black California Racial Inequality

• Blacks economic standing is a little over half
  that of Whites
• Blacks housing quality, health index, education,
  criminal justice index
• is about two-thirds that of Whites.
• Only index in which Blacks scored higher is civic
  participation.

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Child Maltreatment Reporting

• AA families more likely to be reported for
  suspected child abuse and neglect, YET
• NIS-1,NIS2,NIS3--estimates about incidence of
  child abuse and neglect reported NO differences
  in incidence of child abuse and neglect by racial
  group

32
Parental Substance Abuse

• Parental substance abuse reason for 42 of
  children who were victims of abuse and neglect
• In 77 of these cases, alcohol was the problem
  substance, and cocaine in 23
• Alcohol and drug related cases more likely to
  result in foster care placements than other cases
  (DHHS, 1999)
• Black women more likely to be reported for
  prenatal substance abuse and
• more likely to have children removed

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Relationship between poverty and child welfare
outcomes

• Lower likelihood of reunification
• Family does not have resources to offset
  situational or personal problems caused by
  povertyhomelessness, lack of child care, poor
  health, violent neighborhoods, substance
  involvement, involvement with criminal justice
  system.
• Poor children less likely to be returned to their
  families and less likely to be adopted than
  children from higher income families.

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Relationship between race and child welfare
outcomes

• African Americans disproportionately poor
• Disparate family preservation service delivery
• Inequities in child maltreatment reporting,
  service provision, kinship care, family
  preservation, exit rates, length of care,
  placement stability and adoption (Courtney 1996,
  Barth, 1994)
• Less likely to have plans for visitation (Olsen,
  1982)
• Enter care at younger ages (Kemp Bodonyi, 2000)

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Differential Service Provision

• Lack of culturally competent child protective
  service workers
• Most have no training in service provision to
  African Americans, Hispanics and American Indians
• Most lack training in risk assessments, child
  dev., parenting, etc.

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Disparities not Unique to Child Welfare

• Also occur in
• Special Education
• Health
• Mental Health
• Criminal Justice

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What can be done?

• Nationally
• Within the State or County
• Within the community
• By individuals

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Rep. Rangel Started Inquiry

• into the High Number of Black Children in Foster
  Care
• Releases Data Showing Significant
  Over-Representationand Requests Investigation
  from the GAO

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•       The statistics tell us that too many
  African American children spend too much time in
  our foster care system.  We need answers to what
  might be causing this troubling
  over-representation, and then we need to take
  corrective action.  I am hopeful that an
  investigation by the GAO will start us down that
  path. 
• In the meantime, there are clearly some immediate
  steps Congress can take to help all children in
  the child welfare system, such as increasing
  access to services that help at-risk families
  safely stay together or reunify. " 

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(No Transcript)
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Select Committee on Foster Care-Karen Bass, Chair

• Challenges and hurdles facing relative caregivers
• Critical needs of teens in foster care and
  emancipation
• Importance of the court and legal process

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Assembly Bill 672

• February 21, 2007
• Introduced by Assembly Member Beall
• Will require the California Child Welfare Council
  to prepare a workplan and appoint a committee to
  develop a statewide vision and strategy for
  reducing the inappropriate disproportionate
  representation of children of color in
  Californias child welfare and foster care
  systems.

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Disparities not unique to California

• Studies recently completed in MN, Michigan, Texas
• Childrens Rights Law Suit in Tennessee

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The State of Black California Racial Inequality

• Blacks economic standing is a little over half
  that of Whites
• Blacks housing quality, health index, education,
  criminal justice index
• is about two-thirds that of Whites.
• Only index in which Blacks scored higher is civic
  participation.

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Shattered Bonds The Color of Child Welfare

• By Dorothy Roberts
• State disruption of families is one symptom of
  this institutionalized discrimination. It
  reflects the persistent gulf between the material
  welfare of Black and White children in America.
  The racial disparity in the child welfare
  systemeven if related directly to economic
  inequality, ultimately results from racial
  injustice.

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Assess which political candidates are addressing
these disparities.
47
Need to assess what we can do to prevent child
removals

• Churches
• Adopt a Family
• Civic Organizations
• Address issues of substance abuse
• and other causes of neglect and abuse
• One Stop shoppingCompton approach

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Reaching churches

• Singleton and Roseman (2004) reported in their
  recent study of 51 Black ministers in Florida
  that 83 of the ministers had never included the
  topic of foster care or adoption in sermons and
  most had no experience with adoption or foster
  care.
• We need to reach out to African American churches
  and ministers more in order to enlist support and
  family resources for children in the system.

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Become an Adoptive or Foster Parent or Recruit
Families

• 513,000 children in care
• 114,000 children awaiting adoption (2005)
• Average of 8.6 years old now
• 36 are African American

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Need to look at experiences of youth in foster
care

• Educational outcomes for youth in schools
  (Struggling children in struggling schools)
• Number of moves
• Services in care

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Small Scale Change

• One child and family at a time
• No more blame
• Plan Do Study Act (PDSA)
• What am I going to do by next Tuesday?
• Organize or partner with community groups to get
  involved and get people motivated.

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What can you do?

• Be a tutor
• Be a foster parent
• Be a respite provider
• Become an adoptive parent
• Recruit families
• Tell others about the children
• Let people in your church know about the needs
• Luggage needs

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Bobby 8 years old

• Bobby loves to play with his toys, especially
  balls and trucks. He has a great laugh. He is
  very healthy and has never been seriously ill. He
  plays well with other children. He is in therapy
  every other week. He is a grade little in school,
  but he is doing well at this time. Bobby is
  tall for his age and has been in the 90th to 95th
  percentile for his age at most stages of life. He
  loves playing basketball and wants to be like
  Shaq. He has had some problems with speech early
  in life, which may come back in the first months
  of his adoptive placement, but he should overcome
  these issues quickly as he adjusts to his
  adoptive home.
• Bobby would do well in a one or two parent home.
  In a single parent home, he would probably do
  better with a single male. He needs a family that
  can help him at home with developmental skills
  and that will be involved with his education. He
  needs a family that will advocate for him at
  school. He needs a family that can monitor his
  progress to make sure that he does not fall
  behind in his gross and fine motor skills as well
  as his speech. He would benefit from a family
  that has parented, foster parented, and/or
  adopted previously.

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Terrell 11 years old still has hope

• Terrell is a soft-spoken, loving child. He is shy
  when meeting new people and takes time to warm up
  to them. Terrell likes playing outside. He loves
  playing football and basketball. Terrell enjoys
  staying active and participating in activities.
  
• He has been waiting for six years and hopes his
  chance for a family comes along soon. He is now
  in fifth grade.

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What can you do?

• Be a CASA volunteer
• Be a mentor
• Become an advocate
• Do talks on prevention
• Help families before they get caught up in the
  system

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Transitional Living Services

• Every child needs to be connected to a caring
  adult who can provide guidance, support, and
  connection to opportunities and pathways to a
  secure productive future.

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• The eyes of the future are looking back at us,
  and they are praying for us to see beyond our own
  time.
• Terry Tempest Williams

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• THE CHILDRENAREWAITING.