Issues of Race Equity in the Child Welfare System: An examination of the history of recent efforts and examination of their applicability to the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative

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Racial Disparities in the Child Welfare System
Using Research to Guide Disparity Reduction
Efforts
Brad Richardson, Ph.D. Univ. of IA School of
Social Work National Resource Center for Family
Centered Practice DMC Resource Center Dennette
Derezotes, MSW Race Matters Consortium Center for
the Study of Social Policy
Julia Kleinschmit Rembert, MSW Univ. of IA
School of Social Work DMC Resource Center
Sioux City Campus
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What well cover today . . .

• Some background on disproportionality and
  disparities
• Polk and Woodbury County MYFI projects
• What the data tell us
• What families tell us
• Successful and promising practice changes
• Replicating the approach

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Definitions

• Disproportionality is the over-or-under-represent
  ation of minority children under age 18 in foster
  care compared to their representation in the
  general population (Bob Hill).
• Disparity is the disparate or inequitable
  treatment or services provided to minority
  children as compared to those provided to
  similarly situated Caucasian children (Bob Hill)

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• Extreme Disproportion
• (Robert Hill Overrepresentation of Children of
  Color in Foster Care in 2000. Working Paper
  03/05)
• 14) New Mexico 3.74
• 13) Iowa 3.76
• 6) Oregon 4 .38
• 5) Wyoming 4.53
• 4) Minnesota 4.77
• 3) Idaho 4.84
• 2) New Hampshire 4.93
• 1) Wisconsin 5.48

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State Efforts to Address Disproportionality In CW
JJ

• DMC Committee developed - 2000
• JJAC allocates funds through decat
• DMC Resource Center at University of Iowa SSW,
  National Center for Family Centered Practice,
  2002
• Child Welfare Better Results for Kids Redesign
  includes focus on disproportionality - 2003
• Minority Youth and Families Initiative (MYFI)
  2003
• Executive Order 5 October 2007
• HF2393 requires racial impact statements 2008

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Joint CW/JJ Efforts to Address Disproportionality

• Expansion of DMC Resource Center to include child
  welfare as well as juvenile justice (2004)
• Technical assistance to and evaluation of local
  sites
• Analysis of key decision points
• Annual state DMC Conference focused on juvenile
  justice, child welfare, education and public
  health (2004 2007)
• Child Welfare Juvenile Justice data provided to
  local groups (2004)
• Joint CW/JJ discussions around risk assessment,
  wraparound alternatives and disproportionality,
  evidence based practice
• Sioux City Polk County projects DMC efforts

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Renewed Leadership around CW, JJ and
Disproportionality

• Governors Office
• Executive Order establishing Youth Race
  Detention Task Force
• Remarks at 6th Annual conference, Linking CW,
  JJ, Education Health to Reduce Racial
  Disparities
• Supreme Court
• Chief Justice Childrens Justice Initiative
  focusing on both CW JJ
• Legislature
• Passed HF2393 requiring minority impact statement
  on disproportionate or unique impacts

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MYFI Polk County
MYFI Practice Guide for Afr Am families (April
2008) - based on the Des Moines MYFI
demonstration project Previous program
evaluations (outcomes, practice, participant
feedback) Current data under review program,
administrative, participant, NAPCWA
disproportionality tool
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Community Partnership forProtecting Children

• Monthly meetings
• Cross sectional participation
• Motivated by non-governmental agencies
• Undoing Racism training

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Parent Partners

• Parents helping parents
• Under auspices of the Visiting Nurse Assn.
• Parents who successfully closed their child
  welfare cases helping parents newly in the system

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Family Team Meetings

• Implemented by DHS
• Conceived to create community support
• Particularly helpful for families of color who
  are suspicious of the system

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Rate per Thousand and Disparity Rate Indices by
Race for Child Placements in Out-of-Home Care in
Polk County 1

A. Race/Ethnicity B. Estimated Population (0-17yrs)2 C. Number of Children in 1st Placement in Out of Home Care (unduplicated) D. Rate per Thousand3 E. Likelihood of Placement4 F. Disparity Rate in comparison to White representation5
Native American 409 (.4) 0 (0) 0 0 0
Asian 3,584 (3.5) 1 (.7) .3 1 in 3,333 .21
Black 7,749 (7.6) 21 (14.7) 2.7 1 in 370 2.11
White 81, 570 (80.0) 109 (76.2) 1.3 1 in 769 11
Hispanic6 8,621 (8.5) 12 (8.4) 1.4 1 in 714 1.11
All Children 101,933 (100) 143 (100) 1.4 1 in 714 --
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Where is Woodbury County?
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Tribal Affiliations of Native Children Assessed
for Abuse, Woodbury County January
2005-December 2007

• Northern Cheyenne
• Oglala Sioux
• Omaha
• Potawatomie
• Rosebud Sioux
• Santee Sioux
• Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux
• Spirit Lake Sioux
• Standing Rock Sioux

• Alaska Native
• Assiniboine
• Blackfeet
• Oklahoma Cherokee
• Cheyenne River Sioux
• Chippewa
• Crow Creek Sioux
• Fort Peck Sioux
• Wisconsin Ho-Chunk
• Hopi

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Timeline 1950s to 2005

• Migration to Sioux City, IA
• 55 Years Later . . .
• 1998
• Community Initiative for Native Children and
  Families (CINCF) begins meeting
• 2003
• Recover Our Children (ROC) Memorial Marches for
  Lost Children
• Iowa Indian Child Welfare Act
• 2004
• Minority Youth and Family Initiative funded
• DMC Resource Center begins providing technical
  assistance
• Accurate accounting of child welfare-involved
  Native children
• 2005
• Native Unit begins work

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Timeline 2006 to present

• 2006
• (Casey) Alliance and Race Matters Consortium
  provides technical assistance
• Evaluation shows families served by Native Unit
  improve in functioning and risk of re-abuse is
  reduced
• Iowa DHS launches Redesign
• 2007
• Alliance-funded advocate helps Native families
  navigate or avoid system involvement
• Evaluation shows DHS-involved Native families and
  community encouraged by new approaches to Native
  families
• Other research shows differences between how DHS
  and community providers and others perceive DHS
  approach, effectiveness, and ability to
  communicate
• 2008
• Family Drug Court begins
• Juvenile Court Services, DHS, courts, and
  community providers engage in Crossover project
  to address youth who are both child welfare and
  juvenile justice-involved.

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Practice that makes a difference starting with
the end in mind
Native American children are safely raised in the
Native community.
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The Native Unit

• The people
• Native family liaisons - 2
• Supervisor
• Social workers - 4
• Child Protection workers

. . . I was surprised that they gave me a
chance to participate in placement for my niece
because of my past history with DHS. People
change and the Unit recognized that and gave me a
chance.
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The Native Unit

• Tools approaches
• Work with all self-identified Native children as
  if ICWA-eligible
• Working with relatives immediately
• Connecting with Tribes early and often
• Emphasis on Relative/Community/Tribal Networks
• Flexible resource dollar pool
• New approaches to recruiting Native foster
  parents
• Strong focus on cultural competence
• Helping non-Native foster and adoptive parents
  become more culturally competent

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Iowa Childrens Justice Initiative

• One family one judge
• Review of quality of representation
• Attorney surveys
• Attorney training

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Woodbury County ScorecardDecision Making Stages

• Accepted Reports
• Child Welfare System Involvement
• In Home vs Out of Home Services
• Voluntary vs Court Ordered Services
• Initial Out of Home Placements
• Permanencies

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Data Definitions Disproportionality Rate

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Data Definitions Rate per Thousand

• The number of children of a particular group
  
• in the child welfare system
• for every 1000 children of the same group
• in the general population.

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Data Definitions Disparity Ratio

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How do we know this is working?

• Data
• ICWA Compliance Reviews
• System Involvement
• Out of Home vs. Family-Centered Placement
• Placement for children in out of home care
• Voluntary vs. Court-ordered involvement
• Scorecard Update

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ICWA Compliance Review Casereading 2008
Apr-Jun Jul-Sept Oct-Dec
Initial Efforts 82 100 100
Collaboration w/Tribe 80 100 100
Active Efforts 100 100 100
Kinship Permanency 80 100 100
Court Proceedings 100 100 100
Overall Compliance 88 100 100
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Basic Scorecard
Table 1 Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and Disparity Ratio Indices by Race for Children in Care Table 1 Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and Disparity Ratio Indices by Race for Children in Care Table 1 Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and Disparity Ratio Indices by Race for Children in Care Table 1 Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and Disparity Ratio Indices by Race for Children in Care Table 1 Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and Disparity Ratio Indices by Race for Children in Care Table 1 Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and Disparity Ratio Indices by Race for Children in Care
Race/Ethnicity Estimated Population (0-17yrs) Number in Out of Home Care Disproportionality Rate Rate Per Thousand Disparity Ratio (compared to white)
American Indian/ Native Alaskan
Asian/PI
Black
White

All Children

Hispanic
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Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and
Disparity Ratio Indices by Race or Children in
Initial Out of Home Placements in Woodbury
County, Iowa 2007
Table 1 Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and Disparity Ratio Indices by Race for Children in Care Table 1 Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and Disparity Ratio Indices by Race for Children in Care Table 1 Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and Disparity Ratio Indices by Race for Children in Care Table 1 Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and Disparity Ratio Indices by Race for Children in Care Table 1 Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and Disparity Ratio Indices by Race for Children in Care Table 1 Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and Disparity Ratio Indices by Race for Children in Care
Race/Ethnicity Estimated Population (0-17yrs) Number in Out of Home Care Disproportionality Rate Rate Per Thousand Disparity Ratio (compared to white)
American Indian/ Native Alaskan 1,038 3.68 53 22.94 6.23 51.06 8.74
Asian/PI 852 3.03 3 1.30 .43 3.52 .09
Black 1,587 5.64 36 2.27 .40 22.68 3.88
White 24,663 87.64 144 62.34 .71 5.84 1

All Children 28,140 231 8.21

Hispanic 5,043 17.92 0 - - -
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Initial Accepted ReportsRate per thousand
children in the general population of the same
race/ ethnicity Woodbury County, Iowa 2005-2008

• All Data for this table obtained from Iowa
  Department of Human Services

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Number of Children Receiving Services from
Woodbury County DHS in One Month, 2005 -2008
(in home and out of home)

• All Data for this table obtained from Iowa
  Department of Human Services

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• All Data for these tables obtained from Iowa
  Department of Human Services

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• All Data for these tables obtained from Iowa
  Department of Human Services

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Initial Out-of-Home Placements Rate per
thousand children in the general population of
the same race/ ethnicity Woodbury County, Iowa
FY05 - FY07

• All Data for this table obtained from Iowa
  Department of Human Services

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PermanenciesRate per thousand children in the
general population of the same race/ ethnicity
Woodbury County, Iowa 2005-2007

• All Data for this table obtained from Iowa
  Department of Human Services

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National Association of Professional Child
Welfare Administrators Disproportionality
Diagnostic Tool Woodbury County (Sioux City, IA)
2006 compared to 2008) NAPCWA Disproportionality
Diagnostic Tool
Disproportionality Developing a Public Agency
Strategy By Danna Fabella, Sandra Slappey, Brad
Richardson, Anita Light Susan Christie July
2, 2007 http//www.napcwa.org/DDT/ddt_main.asp
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National Association of Professional Child
Welfare Administrators Disproportionality
Diagnostic Tool Woodbury County (Sioux City, IA)
2006 compared to 2008) Society
Domains DHS DHS DHS Community Community Community Total Total Total
Domains Pilot Initial Follow-up Pilot Initial Follow-up Pilot Initial Follow-up
Strategy 100 100 70 50 60 57 65 80 65
Culture 54 91 37 29 50 48 38 72 41
Policy 55 75 60 44 67 29 57 71 47
Legal System 13 6 38 17 29 54 15 43 44
Training Education 9 44 25 17 19 43 13 26 32
Communication 60 81 55 8 33 50 33 56 53
Resources 70 63 72 36 65 60 46 64 67
Practice 58 58 57 26 25 43 36 42 51
Economic Issues 75 70 47 34 33 24 46 61 37
Data/Technology 25 80 60 22 60 43 25 78 53
Personnel/People 100 100 90 44 60 71 64 80 82
OVERALL 54 75 53 28 44 46 36 59 50
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National Association of Professional Child
Welfare Administrators Disproportionality
Diagnostic Tool Woodbury County (Sioux City, IA)
2006 compared to 2008) System
Domains DHS DHS DHS Community Community Community Total Total Total
Domains Pilot Initial Follow-up Pilot Initial Follow-up Pilot Initial Follow-up
Strategy 100 88 67 33 58 48 56 70 59
Culture 73 82 45 37 77 61 47 79 51
Policy 100 83 65 25 60 36 50 69 53
Legal System 25 30 45 11 11 36 15 21 41
Training Education 18 67 43 22 42 32 21 54 24
Communication 47 87 60 19 50 54 32 67 57
Resources 58 57 53 30 33 52 38 42 53
Practice 69 84 51 18 36 47 34 58 50
Economic Issues 41 87 45 28 27 33 39 51 40
Data/Technology 63 100 50 38 13 50 46 46 50
Personnel/People 56 73 50 46 73 61 48 73 54
OVERALL 63 77 52 28 46 46 39 59 50
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National Association of Professional Child
Welfare Administrators Disproportionality
Diagnostic Tool Woodbury County (Sioux City, IA)
2006 compared to 2008) Individual
Domains DHS DHS DHS Community Community Community Total Total Total
Domains Pilot Initial Follow-up Pilot Initial Follow-up Pilot Initial Follow-up
Strategy 43 60 60 19 38 71 26 46 50
Culture 88 71 90 44 90 79 58 82 85
Policy 100 100 60 38 60 29 55 78 47
Legal System 86 67 45 35 50 36 50 56 41
Training Education 25 50 40 11 0 7 15 25 27
Communication 75 71 50 33 80 57 46 76 53
Resources 75 78 75 30 67 86 44 71 79
Practice 74 94 83 26 46 46 40 65 68
Economic Issues 56 100 50 38 43 43 42 57 47
Data/Technology 33 100 50 13 50 57 18 67 53
Personnel/People 100 100 80 50 100 86 64 100 82
OVERALL 70 79 63 31 57 50 42 66 58
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Key Services/Practice ImprovementsWoodbury County

• Emphasis on Relative/Community/Tribal Networks
• Flexible resource dollar pool
• Strong focus on cultural competence
• Understand when the case does not belong at DHS
• Knowing how to plug in community resources and
  collaborate with the Native Community

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Key Services/Practice ImprovementsWoodbury County

• Looking at relative placement right away
• Utilizing Tribal Liaisons from the time of CPS
  Assessment
• Closer working relationship between social
  workers and CPS workers
• Supervisor, family, DHS worker, Tribe operating
  from the same page
• Training to keep you doing the right thing
  reinforcing that it is not our job to create
  model families, whatever that is. We are to
  keep kids safe.
• Judge training has helped them understand that
  ICWA requires IMMINENT danger for removal, not
  that abuse is likely

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Practice advances How a Liaison works

• Coaching workers on understanding Native families
  and their dynamics.
• Asking Is this a SAFETY issue? Are basic needs
  being met?
• Can we utilize community/other resources to meet
  the needs of these families?
• Is removal REALLY necessary?
• Contingent on social workers really utilizing
  Liaison expertise

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Key Services/Practice ImprovementsPolk County

• Community-based services that are individualized
• Building on strengths
• Meeting the needs of children and families across
  life domains to promote success, safety and
  permanence in the home, school and community
• Facilitating family team meetings,
• Providing community outreach promoting Family
  Team Decision Making within the African American
  community engage informal and community-based
  resources supports

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Documentation of Intervention and Practice
Improvement for Replication http//www.uiowa.edu/
nrcfcp/dmcrc/myfi.shtml
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(Casey) Alliance 6 Dimensions of Change
necessary for long-term reform

• Legislation, Policy Change and Finance Reform
• Research, Evaluation and Data-Based
  Decision-making
• Youth, Parent and Community Partnership and
  Development
• Public Will and Communication
• Human Service Workforce Development
• Practice Change (site-based implementation)

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Partners in Change

• Race Matters Consortium
• Recover Our Children (ROC)
• Sioux City Police Department
• Third Judicial District
• Tribal Council Leaders
• Tribal Domestic Violence workers
• University of Iowa
• University of South Dakota
• Woodbury County Administration

• Area Tribes
• CASA
• Casey/CSSP Alliance on Racial Equity
• Child Advocacy Center
• Iowa DHS
• Woodbury County DHS
• Iowa Legislature
• Local Human Rights Commission
• NICWA
• Native Service Providers

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Racial Disparities in the Child Welfare System
Using Research to Guide Disparity Reduction
Efforts
Brad Richardson, Ph.D. Univ. of IA School of
Social Work National Resource Center for Family
Centered Practice DMC Resource Center Dennette
Derezotes, MSW Race Matters Consortium Center for
the Study of Social Policy
Julia Kleinschmit Rembert, MSW Univ. of IA
School of Social Work DMC Resource Center
Sioux City Campus
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