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  • Children of Color in the Child Welfare System: Perspectives from the Child Welfare Community

Children of Color in the Child Welfare System: Perspectives from the Child Welfare Community

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Author(s)
United States. Children's Bureau.
Chibnall, Susan.;Dutch, Nicole M.;Jones-Harden, Brenda.;Brown, Annie.;Gourdine, Ruby.
Year Published 2003

Table of Contents

Authors

Acknowledgements

Executive Summary

I. Introduction

II. Literature Review

2.1 Theories of Disproportionate Minority Representation

Disproportionate need
Racial bias and child welfare decision making
Interactions between family risk and child welfare practice

2.2 Race and Decision Making in the Child Welfare System

Incidence of CAN and reports of abuse
Investigation and substantiation
Family preservation and reunification
Foster care

2.3 Conclusion

III. Methodology

3.1 Developing the Research Questions

3.2 Selecting and Recruiting the Case Study Sites

3.3 Developing the Discussion Topics

3.4 Conducting the Site Visits

IV. Findings

4.1 The Issue of Over-Representation: The Perspective from the Field

External factors
Poverty and related issues
Community and family characteristics
Discriminatory practices
Media issues
Internal factors
Worker bias
Agency practices
Over-representation and Federal policies
The Multi-ethnic Placement Act
Adoption and Safe Families Act

4.2 Examining the Strategies Child Welfare Agencies Use to Meet the Needs of Children and Families of Color

How can agencies better serve children and families of color?
The nature of service delivery: emphasizing prevention
Building public and private agency partnerships
Additional resources
Agency-related factors
Staff issues
Administrative support
What is necessary to reduce over-representation?
External resources for clients
Agency resources for clients
Community connections

4.3 Responding to Children and Families of Color: Promising Programs and Practices Prevention programs

V. Discussion

5.1 Racial Disproportionality in the Child Welfare System

5.2 Service Delivery Strategies and Children of Color

5.3 Concluding Remarks

VI. Implications for Policy and Practice

6.1 Implications for Practice

Workforce issues
Strategies for serving children and families of color

6.2 Implications for Policy

VII. Recommendations For Future Research

What is the impact of systematic reforms and their resulting practices on racial disproportionality in the child welfare system?

Do those who report child abuse and neglect discriminate against families of color?

Are culture-specific prevention programs successful in reducing the numbers of children entering the child welfare system?

Do targeted recruitment programs, designed to increase the numbers of minority foster and adoptive parents, result in decreased numbers of minority children in the child welfare system?

Do staff characteristics influence the trajectories of minority children in the child welfare system?

Do minority children and families have a different level of resources when compared to majority children and families?

What are the effects of cultural competency and cultural sensitivity training on actual child welfare practice?

What about Federal policies?

VIII. Conclusions

Appendix

References

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