Color of Child Welfare Policy: Racial Disparities in Child Welfare Services

1
Color of Child Welfare PolicyRacial
Disparities in Child Welfare Services

• Ruth G. McRoy
• Center for Social Work Research
• The University of Texas at Austin
• Austin, Texas

2
Overrepresentation A Definition

• If a particular racial/ethnic group of children
  are represented in foster care at a higher
  percentage than they are represented in the
  general population
• 14.7 of children under 18 in US are AA
• 38 of children in foster care are AA

3
Disproportionality

• A situation in which a particular racial/ethnic
  group of children are 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.)

4
According to AFCARS report, March 31, 2000

• 588,000 children in the foster care system
• White, non Hispanic 35 (207,948)
• Black, Non-Hispanic 38 (226,363)
• Hispanic, 15 (88,939)
• AI/AN Non Hispanic 2 (9,330)
• Asian/PI NI Non-Hispanic (6,213)
• Unknown 8 (49,207)

5
Disparities not Unique to Child Welfare

• Criminal justice
• Health care
• Mental health
• Homelessness
• Victims of violent crime
• Special education

6
Criminal Justice African Americans

• 12.4 of the U.S. population
• 48.2 of entire prison population
• 40 of juveniles in legal custody
• Overrepresented in local jails

7
Health Care African Americans

• Rate of diabetes is more than three times that of
  whites
• HIV/AIDS more than seven times that of whites
• Infant mortality twice that of whites
• Life span differential

8
Treatment Differentials
Institute of Medicine

• Minorities are less likely than whites to get
• proper heart medication, heart bypass surgery
• kidney dialysis transplants
• Gap greatest between blacks whites
• Blacks on Medicare more likely to have their
  lower limbs amputated
• diabetes

9
Mental Health

• Recent Surgeon Generals report on inequities
• Disparities in availability, accessibility,
  quality of mental health services for racial and
  ethnic minorities

10
Homelessness African Americans

• 44 of homeless population
• 3.5 times more AA than whites are homeless
• Overrepresentation includes many women, children
  youth

11
Victims of Violent Crime

• AA of all ages are more likely to be the victims
  of serious violent crime than are whites.
• At greater risk of knowing someone who had
  suffered violence
• Greater risk not associated with SES differences
  or differences in area of residence

12
From Underrepresentation to Overrepresentation

• African American children
• Slavery
• Excluded from most orphanages /placed in
  almshouses
• Free foster homes
• 1910 National Urban League advocated for
  equitable services for AA children
• 1923Most child welfare institutions still
  segregated

13
1930
Ira De A. Reid of Urban League

• Discrimination against black parents in
• Income maintenance
• Medical care
• Services to unwed mothers
• Day care services
• Arbitrary enforcement of welfare policies
• Man in the house
• Illegitimate child
• home suitability clauses

14
In New York City between 1927 and 1939,

• Number of cps cases of Caucasian children
  declined by more than 31
• Number of CPS cases of AA children rose by 147
  (Piven and Cloward, 1971)
• In 1939, 23 of 27 Protestant custodial care
  agencies took only Caucasian children in NYC
• AA children often had to be labeled juvenile
  criminals to qualify for any out of home
  placement services (Bernstein-Lost Children of
  Wilder)

15
1959
Maas and Engler

• reported that more AA children in care and less
  likely to be adopted

16
1963

• Culturally insensitive workers
• Removing children from undesirable family
  situation
• Placing in foster care
• 81 of children in out of home care in 1963
• there because parents were unmarried
• came from broken homes
• Most were African American Indian

17
1963
Jeter reports black children

• Remain in foster care for longer periods of time
  than white children
• Not offered adoption on equitable basis
• Experience ongoing discrimination in service
  provision
• Served by public agencies
• Private agencies serving white children

18
Responses in 1970s80s

• NABSW Position Statement
• 1974 Child Abuse Prevention Treatment Act
• 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act
• Adoption Assistance Child Welfare Act
• reasonable efforts

19
1980s 90spresent

• Growing Numbers of Children in Care
• 1982
• 262,000 children in care (52 Anglo)
• 1993
• 429,000 (38 Anglo)
• 2001
• 588,000 (35 Anglo)

20
New York AFCARS 1998

• 17 of child population in New York is AA
• 53,555 children in care
• 49 African American

21
Reasons for out of home placementChild
Maltreatment

• Increase in maltreatment
• Increase in poverty
• Lindsey (1991) Pelton (1989)
• Parental income is best predictor of child
  removal placement
• Majority of children in care from single-parent,
  low-income households

22
Differential Attribution Labeling Bias

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

23
Neglect

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

24
1989

• 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.

Pelton, (1989) pp. 5253
25
Correlates of Out-of-Home Placement

• Poverty
• Rates of child poverty rising
• Impact of welfare reform
• Substance abuse
• Homelessness
• Aids
• Teen parenthood
• Violence
• Racism

26
Disproportionate Poverty

• Blacks represent about 12.8 of population yet
  23.6 of Blacks are poor
• Income differential
• Median Income
• AA 29,740
• Whites 52,821
• 50 female headed AA households
• avg. income 17,316

27
Child in poverty is

• 26 times more likely to drop out of school
• 160 times more likely to give birth as a teen
• 18 times more likely to be killed by gunfire
• 60 times more likely to suffer reportable abuse
  or neglect
• 46 times more likely to be placed in foster care

According to Annie E. Casey Foundation
28
Substance Abuse

• Parental substance abuse
• 42 of children who were victims of abuse
  neglect
• In 77 alcohol was the problem substance
• In 23 cocaine was the problem substance
• 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
• more likely to have children removed

29
Imprisonment of Parents

• 1.74 million children have at least one parent in
  prison
• Disproportionately high numbers of AA in prison
• 9.7 of Black men ages 2029 in prison
• 428,999 black men
• 2.9 Hispanic men
• 1.1 percent of non-Hispanic White men ages 2029
• Can lose eligibility for TANF

30
Jail Sentences for African Americans

• Both men women typically serve more time than
  whites for same offense (Dept. of Justice, 1995)
• Children likely to be separated from parents
  longer than white children
• Termination proceedings after 15 of past 22
  months (ASFA, 1997)
• Visitation is problematic
• location not accessible

31
Disparities in Conviction Rates

• Two thirds of crack cocaine users are Whites and
  Hispanics
• Persons most likely convicted of possession were
  AA
• 84.5 African Americans
• 10.3 Whites
• 5.2 Hispanics
• Crack cocaine
• Harsher penalties than for powder cocaine

32
1996

• Child maltreatment reporting
• Service provision
• Kinship care
• Family preservation

Inequities reported from Courtney
33
1996

• Exit rates
• Length of care
• Placement stability
• Adoption
• Majority of racial differences reported were
  between African Americans and Anglos rather than
  any other group

Inequities reported from Courtney
34
2001
Barth develops model of caseload flow of children

• 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

35
Several recent studies

• NIS-1,NIS2,NIS3estimates about incidence of
  child abuse neglect
• Reported o differences in incidence of child
  abuse neglect by racial group
• Issues raised about sample selection bias raise
  questions about validity/possible undercount

36
2001
Barth suggests multiplicative model

• There are small to medium increases in the
  disproportionality by population experienced by
  AA children as they move through the child
  welfare system, which results in substantial
  differences in their representation in child
  welfare compared to their representation in
  general population
• Argues greater risk for child abuse neglect in
  AA families
• Reentry rates highest for AA children

37
2001
Proportionate to needBarth

• No compelling reason to assume that this
  disproportionality is not generally in the best
  interests of the children served

38
Service Provision

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

39
Service Provision

• Greater substantiation on AA Latino children
• Zellman (1992) found survey participants more
  likely to believe report should be made on child
  of color described in vignette than white child

40
Service Provision

• AA children more likely to remain in care longer,
  less visitation, fewer contacts with workers
• AA children least likely to have plans for
  contact with families, fewer services

41
Service Provision

• Less likely to be
• adopted
• reunified from non-kinship care
• offered family preservation services
• Types of services temporary not sufficient to
  raise families out of poverty

42
Adoption

• Despite advantages of minority specializing
  agencies,few agencies have used or established
  such programs

43
Shortage of AA Adoptive Parents

• Lack of sufficient minority trained staff
• Knowledge of subsidies
• Screening out process
• Transracial adoptions

44
Decision-Making Points

• Worker/supervisor level (investigation)
• Reporting
• Decision to investigate
• Service provision
• Placement recommendation

45
Judicial Level

• Experience/knowledge
• Legal representation
• Advocacy

46
Worker/Supervisor Level

• Placement
• Knowledge/experience
• Bias
• Caseload
• Perception of available homes

47
Impact of Other Systems on Child Welfare

• Economic system
• Criminal justice system
• Legal System
• Welfare System

48
Intersections

• Reasons for disproportionality
• Person- or community-centered
• Agency-centered
• Societal

49
Person- or Community-Centered

• Child, Family, and Community
• Location or residence
• Poverty/uninsured/lack of resources
• Lack of knowledge to access services/legal rights
• Community or individual mistrust
• Visibility hypothesisvisibility might propel
  into foster care or lack protections
• Jenkins, Diamond, Garland, et.al

50
Agency-Centered

• Lack of culturally responsive services
• Lack of Minority staff
• Lack of accessible locations
• Failure to reach population
• Decision making
• Myths/stereotypes about AA families

51
Implications

• Need to change how workers are trained

52
Need knowledge of culture

• Impact of racism and poverty on behavior,
  attitudes, values
• Help seeking behaviors
• Role of language, speech patterns, communication
  styles
• Impact of social service policies on clients of
  color
• Power relationships
• Privilege

53
Skill Development

• Ability to communicate accurate information on
  behalf of culturally different clients
• Ability to openly discuss racial and ethnic
  differences and respond to culturally based cues
• Ability to assess meaning ethnicity has for
  individual client
• Client empowerment and Rapport building

54
Societal-Centered

• Discrimination/racism
• Funding

55
Racism

• Missouri Fed. Judge stated in case on racial
  disparities in sentencing
• Perceptions of AA as dangerous, different, or
  subordinate are lessons learned and internalized
  completely outside of our awareness, and are
  reinforced by the media-generated stereotyping.

56
Other Factors

• Failure of domestic policy has led to racial
  isolation and concentration of the black poor in
  inner cities
• Black migration to urban areas
• Lack of responsiveness re jobs, housing,
  services, educational programs
• Growth of prison industry
• Insufficient drug treatment programs

57
Changes Result From

• Legislation
• Court casesclass action suits/civil rights
• Media attention to institutional discrimination
• Governmental reports
• Mandated changes in training for judges,workers,
  other staff

58
Challenge

• Acknowledge intersystemic disparities
• Child protection or
• Promoting childrens welfare