Child Welfare Information Gateway
Skip to main content
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
  • Administration for Children & Families
  • Children's Bureau
Child Welfare Information Gateway
REPORT ABUSE OR
NEGLECT
FIND HELP WITH A
PERSONAL SITUATION   

Home Topics Publications Library State Resources More Tools & Resources News & Events
REPORT ABUSE OR
NEGLECT
FIND HELP WITH A
PERSONAL SITUATION   
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Chat
  • Free Subscriptions
  • Resources in Spanish
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Chat
  • Resources in Spanish
  • Shopping Cart
  • Home
  • Topics
    • Family-Centered Practice
      • Philosophy and Key Elements of Family-Centered Practice
      • Family-Centered Practice Across the Service Continuum
      • Engaging Families
      • Family-Centered Casework Practice
      • Family Group Decision-Making
      • Engaging Communities to Support Families
      • Creating a Family-Centered Agency Culture
    • Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Definitions of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Identification of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Risk Factors That Contribute to Child Abuse and Neglect
      • People Who Engage in Child Abuse or Neglect
      • Impact of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Child Abuse & Neglect Fatalities
    • Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
      • National Child Abuse Prevention Month
      • Overview: Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Promoting Child & Family Well-Being
      • Public Awareness & Creating Supportive Communities
      • Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Programs
      • Developing & Sustaining Prevention Programs
      • Evidence-Based Practice for Child Abuse Prevention
      • Evaluating Prevention Programs
    • Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Introduction to Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect
      • Assessment in Child Protection
      • Differential Response in Child Protective Services
      • Child Protection Casework Practice
      • Responding to Child Maltreatment Near Fatalities and Fatalities
      • Trauma-Informed Practice in Child Welfare
      • Collaborative Responses to Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Supporting & Preserving Families
      • Supporting Families With Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
      • Introduction to Family Support and Preservation
      • In-Home Services Involved With Child Protection
      • Family Support Services
      • Resources for Managers of Family Support and Preservation Services
      • Family Preservation Services
    • Out-of-Home Care
      • National Foster Care Month
      • Overview: Out-of-Home Care
      • Foster Care
      • Group and Residential Care
      • Kinship Care
      • Casework Practice in Out-of-Home Care
      • Transition to Adulthood and Independent Living
      • Placement Decisions
      • Resources for Foster Families
    • Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
      • Overview: Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
      • Reunifying Families
      • Recruiting and Retaining Resource Families
      • Permanency With Relatives and Kin
      • Guardianship
      • Permanency for Specific Youth Populations
      • Legal and Court Issues in Permanency
      • Interjurisdictional Placements
      • Working With Children, Youth, and Families in Permanency Planning
      • Working With Children, Youth, and Families After Permanency
      • Resources for Administrators and Managers About Permanency
      • Resources for Families About Permanency
    • Adoption
      • National Adoption Month
      • All-In Foster Adoption Challenge
      • Children's Bureau Adoption Call to Action
      • Adoption and Guardianship Assistance by State
      • Introduction to Adoption
      • Ethical Issues in Adoption
      • For Adopted People
      • For Adoption Program Managers & Administrators
      • For Expectant Parents Considering Adoption and Birth Parents
      • How to Adopt
      • Laws Related to Adoption
      • Parenting After Adoption
      • Preplacement Adoption Casework Practice
      • Postplacement Adoption Casework Practice
      • Search & Reunion in Adoption
    • Management & Supervision
      • Administering & Managing Child Welfare Agencies & Programs
      • Child Welfare Practice Improvement
      • Disaster Preparedness & Response
      • Ethical Practice & Client Rights
      • Evaluating Program and Practice Effectiveness
      • Funding
      • Information Systems & Data
      • Supervising Child Welfare Services
      • System Reform
      • Training
      • Workforce
    • Systemwide
      • Assessment
      • Behavioral Health & Wellness
      • Courts
      • Cultural Responsiveness
      • Diverse Populations and Communities
      • Domestic Violence
      • Human Trafficking
      • Laws & Policies
      • Service Array
      • Statistics
      • Well-Being
      • Youth
  • Publications
    • Publications Series
    • Browse by Topic
    • Browse by Title
    • índice de Títulos en Español (Spanish Title Index)
  • Library
    • Library Services
    • Library Search Help
  • State Resources
    • State Statutes
    • National Foster Care & Adoption Directory
    • State Guides & Manuals Search
    • State-Related Organizations Lists
    • Adoption and Guardianship Assistance by State
  • More Tools & Resources
    • Related Organizations
    • Learning Center
    • Resources From the Children's Bureau
      • Children's Bureau Discretionary Grants
      • The Story of the Children's Bureau
      • Children's Bureau Video Series
    • Child Welfare Information Gateway Podcast Series
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Webinars
    • Family Engagement Inventory
  • News & Events
    • Free Subscriptions
    • Adoption Triad
    • Children's Bureau Express (CBX)
    • The Grantee Connection
    • New on Information Gateway
    • New From the Children's Bureau
    • Event Calendar
  • Home
  • Topics
  • Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
  • Promoting Child & Family Well-Being
  • Equity and Inclusion for Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention

Equity and Inclusion for Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention

Children of color are overrepresented in the child welfare system. Families of color are more likely to be investigated for child abuse or neglect, and children of color have the greatest odds of being removed from their homes and placed in out-of-home care. One strategy to address racial disparities is to reduce these families' involvement with the child welfare system by providing community-based resources and support through a prevention approach. Prevention services in child welfare aim to keep families together by eliminating risk factors that may lead to child maltreatment or the separation of children from their parents. Effective prevention services focus on increasing the well-being of children and families by building resiliency, parenting capacity, and protective factors.

The supports offered through child abuse prevention programs can promote equity and inclusion within the child welfare system. Providing a safe and nurturing environment to build social connections along with concrete supports such as housing services, financial resources, and in-home services may be especially beneficial for at-risk families. Prevention service providers should work with their community to promote youth and family voice, particularly from communities of color, in the design and implementation of prevention programs.

Use the following resources to learn how child abuse prevention programs are working to engage diverse populations and advance racial equity.

Addressing Racial Bias & Inequity in Child Welfare
Eckhart (2021)
Children’s Defense Fund Ohio
Describes the issue of racial bias in child welfare and lists several initiatives related to prevention services and striving for equity.

Addressing Racial Inequity in Child Welfare: The Key Role of Prevention Services
Hansell (2021)
Center for New York City Affairs at The New School
Explains how prevention programs in New York City utilize efforts to address racial disparities at the organizational level, in their services provided, and through the formation of racial equity committees. 

Child Abuse Prevention With a Racial Equity Lens [Webinar]
Strategies TA (2021)
Presents strategies for offering child abuse prevention programs through a racial equity lens and discusses the development of a community framework for antiracism.

Disproportionality and Race Equity in Child Welfare
National Conference of State Legislatures (2021)
Reviews racial disproportionality and efforts to achieve racial equity in child welfare, including the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018, which provides funding to States for prevention services. Under the law, States can use funds to modify prevention programs to be more culturally responsive and work to recruit and retain underserved families of color.

The Path to Racial Equity in Child Welfare: Valuing Family and Community (PDF - 1,642 KB)
Alliance for Children’s Rights (2021)
Outlines proposed policy reforms to improve racial equity in child welfare, including enhanced child abuse prevention strategies that halt unnecessary separations of children from their parents.

Race Equity Within Our Prevention Work [Webinar]
Children’s Bureau Learning and Coordination Center (2021)
Features a webinar from the Children’s Bureau that describes efforts surrounding race equity in the field of child abuse prevention. The webinar includes presentations from the Children’s Bureau; the Office on Child Abuse and Neglect; the Center for the Study of Social Policy; Be Strong Families; and the Washington Department of Children, Youth and Families.

Racial Disparities in Perceptions of Community Supports: Implications for Policy, Practice, and Research With Children and Families (PDF - 1,597 KB)
Colorado Department of Human Services, Office of Early Childhood (2021)
Examines racial disparities within the field of child welfare and presents data to inform policy and practice recommendations that focus on a prevention-forward approach to equity for all families.

(Back to Top)

Spotlight On

Culturally Effective Organizations

FRIENDS National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention

Spotlight on Striving for Equity in Child Welfare Practice

Capacity Building Center for States (2021)

Related Content

System Reform

Disproportionality

Strategies for Reducing Inequity

Racial Equity Resources for Child Welfare Professionals

Children's Bureau - An office of the Administration for Children and Families

Child Welfare Information Gateway is a service of the

  • Children’s Bureau
  • Administration for Children and Families
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
↑ Back to top
  • HOME
  • TOPICS
    • Family-Centered Practice
    • Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Supporting & Preserving Families
    • Out-of-Home Care
    • Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
    • Adoption
    • Management & Supervision
    • Systemwide
  • National Initiatives
    • National Adoption Month
    • National Child Abuse Prevention Month
    • National Foster Care Month
  • Publications
    • Publications Series
    • Browse by Title
    • Browse by Topic
    • Índice de Títulos en Español
  • Library
    • Search the Library
  • State Resources
    • State Statutes
    • National Foster Care & Adoption Directory
    • State Guides & Manuals
    • State Related Organizations Lists
    • Adoption Assistance by State
  • More Tools & Resources
    • Related Organizations
    • Learning Center
    • Children's Bureau Resources
    • Information Gateway Podcast
    • Multimedia
    • Family Engagement Inventory
  • NEWS AND EVENTS
    • New on Information Gateway
    • New From the Children's Bureau
    • Event Calendar
  • ABOUT US
    • How to Report Child Abuse or Neglect
    • Find Help With a Personal Situation
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Glossary
    • Search A to Z
  • Contact Us
    • 1-800-394-3366
    • info@childwelfare.gov
    • Subscribe to Free Updates
    • Chat With Us
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on YouTube
  • POLICIES & HELPFUL LINKS
    • Disclaimer and Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility
    • FOIA requests
    • No FEAR Act data
    • Office of the Inspector General
    • Performance reports
    • Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
    • USA.gov
    • Download Acrobat Reader
  • ↑ Back to top