Race and Child Welfare:Exits from the Child Welfare System

Brenda Jones Harden, Ph.D.University of Maryland College Park

Research Synthesis on Child Welfare Disproportionality and Disparities Alliance for Racial Equity in Child Welfare

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Explanatory Framework 2

Placement• Nationally, race has emerged as a factor in placement

decisions, particularly for African Americans and American Indians▫ In 2008, African American children were 15% of the national child

population, 26% of children who entered care; White children were 75.9% of the national child population, 44% of children who entered care

• Other factors that may impact the placement decision include:

▫ Poverty and perceived family safety/risk▫ Family structure▫ Prior history of maltreatment▫ Type of maltreatment allegation ▫ Child age▫ Geographic region, including access to community services ▫ Interactions between factors and race in some studies

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Exits from Care

•Longer duration of care

•Slower exits from care▫Increased likelihood of kinship care

placement▫Decreased likelihood of reunification▫Decreased likelihood of adoption▫Slower reunification process

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Types of Out of Home Care• With respect to disproportionality and

disparities, most of the literature focuses on kinship care

• Nationally, African American and American Indian children are more likely to be placed with relatives than their White counterparts

• The rate of Hispanic children and youth being placed in kinship care is growing

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Kinship Care

• Inconsistent definition of kin

• Inconsistent licensing standards for kinship families

• Unequal levels of funding reimbursement, services, and/or caseworker contacts

• Longer lengths of stay for children, contributing to disproportionality and disparities

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Outcomes of Kinship Care• Family preservation

• Increased placement stability

• Cultural identity development

• Achievement of permanency

• Child outcomes no worse▫Kinship families more vulnerable▫Select children with fewer problems

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Reunification • Nationally and regionally, African American

and American Indian children are less likely to reunify with their families than are White children • After controlling for risks• 0-6 month old infants

• Some literature indicates that birth family reunification is slower for children in kinship care, thus impacting children of color

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Reunification • Family structure may influence reunification

rates

• Single parenthood – more common among African American families

• In some locations, family race is a factor influencing the decision to reunify a child with his or her family• After considering/controlling for risks and

other factors

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Adoption • Greater adoption disparities for children of color,

particularly African American children▫ Longer time to finalize adoptions for African American

children, adding to their already longer duration of care

• Likelihood of adoption continues to increase for African American children• In some cases greater than for White children,

especially re: infants• Leading to reduction of racial disparities

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Guardianship • African American and American Indian children

less likely to exit the system through legal guardianship

• Subsidized guardianship increased permanency

and has potential to reduce disparities

• The research regarding guardianship is currently limited

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Independent Living •Due to longer lengths of stay in care, youth of

color more likely to “age out” of the system

•Outcomes, such as level of education, employment, and annual income, not as positive for African American youth

•Child welfare system “significant contributing source” to overrepresentation of youth of color (specifically African American youth) in the juvenile justice system

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Service Disparities

•Limited research•Child welfare and ancillary services•Linked to child welfare status•Families of color less likely to receive

services to address risks ▫After controlling for poverty

•Particularly challenging for families who do not speak English and who are immigrants▫Latinos and African American families

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Service Disparities

• Case management• Family support• Mental health treatment and counseling• Substance abuse treatment• Housing• Employment services• Home visitation

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Service Disparities

• Lower frequency and lower quality• Less contact with child welfare workers• In-home family services• Foster parents

▫Counseling▫Child care▫Educational services▫Fewer services for kinship care providers

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Promising Policies and Practices

• Limited and geographically-specific evidence• Family group decision making• Team decision making• Differential response• Randomized control trial (Ohio)

• Permanency approaches• Child welfare workforce development• Service access, quality, and coordination• Community collaborations

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Summary• Child welfare experiences are different for children of

color▫ Placement decision

▫ Placement duration

▫ Services

▫ Type and timing of exits to permanency

• Changing child welfare policies and practices are reducing disparities▫ Prevention/entry/permanency programs

▫ Guardianship

▫ Adoption

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Summary

•Need for additional research▫Broader and more careful examination of

race/ethnicity

▫Explanatory factors (targets of intervention)

▫Effective strategies to reduce disparities

▫Workforce: decision-making and development

▫Context-specific research and continuous improvement

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