African American Men,Child Welfare,and Permanency Planning

Summary

Like social services generally, child welfare and permanency planning services have failed to incorporate African American men as significant and serious participants in the service delivery process. Child welfare and permanency planning services have marginalized African American men such that children fail to benefit from the inclusion of these men in the service delivery process. This incomplete and inappropriate approach to permanency planning specifically, and to child welfare services more generally, is a disservice to African American children. Corrective measures are proffered to promote greater inclusion of African American men in child welfare and permanency planning services.     

Community Differences in the Association Between Parenting Practices and Child Conduct Problems

Various hypotheses were identified regarding the manner in which community context might influence the association between two dimensions of parenting—control and corporal punishment—on child conduct problems. The authors used hierarchical linear modeling with a sample of 841 African American families to test these hypotheses. Consistent with the evaporation hypothesis, the results indicated that the deterrent effect of caretaker control on conduct problems becomes smaller as deviant behavior becomes more widespread within a community. The findings for corporal punishment supported the normative parenting argument. Although there was a positive relationship between caretaker corporal punishment and child conduct problems in communities where physical discipline was rare, there was no association between the two variables in communities where physical discipline was widely prevalent. These results suggest that a particular parenting strategy may be more effective in some neighborhood environments than others. The theoretical implications of this view are discussed.     

Challenging implicit bias: preparing students to practice with African American families

ABSTRACT

The disparity of African American families in the foster care system is a concern in the field of child welfare services and the social work profession. African American families experience unique challenges related to discriminatory practices and implicit biases in the child welfare system and by mandated reporters. To address these inequalities, state and local agencies have implemented prevention and intervention services to support minority families. Additionally, child welfare agencies have invested in professional development training for their workers to alleviate possible intolerant practices. This article describes implicit biases and considers how they could contribute to the disparity of African American families involved in the child welfare system. Furthermore, the article presents approaches to help social work students to identify and challenge their implicit biases to support culturally sensitive practices while working with African American families. It concludes with implications for social work education.     

Connective complexity: African American adolescents and the relational context of kinship foster care

Attempts to address racial disproportionality in child welfare must include a focus on the benefits and challenges facing children in kinship care. African American children not only are overrepresented in the child welfare system, but also are placed disproportionately in kinship foster care. Using a sample of 18 African American adolescents ages 11 to 14, this article explores how the relational context of care experienced by adolescents in kinship foster care differs from that of adolescents in nonkinship foster family placements. Findings are presented regarding the stability of relationships as well as complex role dilemmas experienced by kinship youth as they relate to caregivers and birthparents in the child welfare context. Implications are given for practice with kinship families.     

A Three-Pronged Approach to Addressing Racial Disproportionality and Disparities in Child Welfare: The Santa Clara County Example of Leadership, Collaboration and Data-Driven Decisions

Disproportionality and disparities in the treatment of children of color has been a growing concern in the child welfare system. System stakeholders have begun to recognize the problem through data, which help identify discrepancies within their jurisdictions. Nationally, the primary concern is the overrepresentation of African American children within the child welfare system, where African Americans represent proportions of the foster population at a level more than twice as high as they are represented in the community at large. In some jurisdictions, however, this is only one piece of the disproportionality concern. San Jose, for example, has both an overrepresentation of African American and an overrepresentation of Hispanic children in the child welfare system. Because San Jose’s child welfare population is unique, they have had to take a unique approach to addressing these concerns. This article outlines strategies and tools used to begin reducing disproportionality within the child welfare and juvenile dependency court system, using San Jose’s experience as an example. Some of the key approaches to addressing disproportionality include ensuring a systems approach (creating a Cross Agency Systems Team that prioritizes services for parents and children in various systems, e.g., mental health, substance abuse, etc.); addressing disproportionality from multiple perspectives and examining the roles’ of caseworkers, supervisors, service providers, judges, and attorneys; gaining community and system stakeholder buy-in by maintaining momentum and providing opportunities for dialogue about the complex issues facing families of color; using a data-driven approach to inform ongoing initiatives and changes in policy and practice (e.g., closely examining policies and practices such as the frequency of recommendations to by-pass reunification services); and implementing changes in practice at multiple levels including child welfare and on the bench. The examination of San Jose’s approach reveals challenges, successes, and lessons learned.     

New methodology: Measuring racial or ethnic disparities in child welfare

Understanding the disparate treatment of African American children in the child welfare system requires consideration of the dynamics at a community level and the state level. Looking across a state allows one to target policies and practices to areas within the state that are most in need. This paper argues for a new method of assessing disparate treatment in child welfare that takes into consideration the racial or ethnic makeup of the community in conjunction with the racial or ethnic makeup across the state. This paper uses decision based enumeration which helps to pinpoint decisions where disparities are the greatest, and helps target decisions that most impact disparate treatment. This paper utilizes a methodology that is both accessible to state and county child welfare administrators and utilizes data that is readily available to child welfare policy makers and administrators. Using data from Illinois to illustrate this methodology, this paper highlights the regions within the state where limited resources may be targeted to address disproportionate representation and disparate treatment in Illinois' child welfare system.     

Racial/ethnic disparity in child welfare systems: A longitudinal study utilizing the Disparity Index (DI)

The purpose of the study is to examine racial/ethnic disparity among children and families that are involved with the child welfare system. Specifically, the authors explore whether or not disparity levels and long-term changes in disparity in California child welfare systems are significant. In addition, the study investigates how county characteristics such as child poverty rates, unemployment rates, and rurality are associated with levels of disparity and changes in racial/ethnic disparity over time. Using a Latent Growth Curve (LGC) modeling approach, the study estimated the trajectories of county-level Disparity Index (DI) scores (Shaw, Putnam-Hornstein, Magruder, & Needell, 2008). African American and Hispanic/Latino children were compared to Caucasian children for two phases of the child welfare process: substantiated allegations and entries, between 2005 and 2008. The results demonstrate that racial/ethnic disparity between African American and Caucasian children was significant at both phases of the child welfare process in 2008. However, disparity between Hispanic/Latino and White children was not significant. Levels of disparity between African American and Caucasian children remained constant over time. Regarding the effects of county characteristics, higher child poverty rates, higher unemployment rates and rurality were related to lower levels of disparity. In addition, unemployment rates were associated with increasing rates of change in entries disparity between African American and Caucasian children. And urbanicity was associated with increasing rates of change in substantiated allegations disparity between Hispanic/Latino and Caucasian children. The study's implications for future research are discussed.     

Reducing racial disparities and disproportionalities in the child welfare system: Policy perspectives about how to serve the best interests of African American youth

This article examines current debates about how to reduce the overrepresentation of African American youth in the child welfare system and address related disparities. These debates reflect tensions between four long-standing perspectives in child welfare: expedient permanency, cultural continuity, family preservation, and social advantage. For each point of view, proponents' unique framing of the problem, use of research, and preferred intervention strategies are described. The emphasis of current federal policy on expedient permanency and transracial adoption is explored, followed by a detailed review of the literature evaluating the impact of this intervention on child and system-level outcomes. It is argued that conclusive evidence does not exist in support of transracial adoption and the expedient permanency perspective above others. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.     

Understanding African American Discipline Styles

ABSTRACT

Discipline styles among African American parents are closely scrutinized; yet, they may be among the most positive aspects of African American child rearing. Families headed by “hardline” disciplinarians often interface with human, service providers who may perceive them as dysfunctional.

The authors report the findings of an exploratory study which examined discipline styles among African American families from various socioeconomic backgrounds in a midwestem community In-depth interviews were conducted, using a naturalistic method of inquiry. Emergent themes were analyzed, using an interactive model to contrast elements of African American and perceived European American methods of discipline. Based on research findings, multilevel service suggestions are provided.     

Children ever in care: an examination of cumulative disproportionality

Most studies of ethnic disproportionality in child welfare examine data in one of two ways: a point in time approach or an entry cohort approach. While each provides insight into disproportionality, neither gives a full picture of the differences among ethnic groups in the experience of the child welfare system over time. This study uses longitudinal administrative child welfare data to examine ethnic disproportionality in involvement with the child welfare system during the first seven years of life at three levels of contact: (1) initial referrals, (2) substantiated referrals, and (3) first entries. Findings suggest the experience of African American families, and probably Native American families, with the child welfare system is much different from other families.     

Introduction: Challenges to the homogenization of “African American”

African American sociologists are beginning to confront the use of African American/Black as a homogeneous sociological category. In doing so they are laying the ground for improvements in social scientific research in general. One aspect of that improvement involves the use of people of African descent as subjects for theoretical statements about humanity at large rather than merely about other African descendent populations. Another aspect involves confronting the extensive segregation within the discipline around the research done by African American scholars. This introduction discusses the implications of these issues for African American scholars and for the discipline as a whole.     

Comparative analysis of two community-based efforts designed to impact disproportionality

Children of color are overrepresented in child welfare in Iowa at a rate double their percentage of the population. In 2005 the Iowa Department of Human Services implemented two pilot demonstration projects to address overrepresentation of Native American and African American children in the child welfare system. The projects, called the Minority Youth and Families Initiative (MYFI), included ongoing evaluation. Results obtained over two years indicate improved worker and participant alliance, family functioning, and outcomes for children. Findings are discussed and recommendations are provided for further improvements in practice, research, and evaluation to reduce racial disparities the child welfare system.     

Disentangling substantiation: The influence of race, income, and risk on the substantiation decision in child welfare

Understanding the source of disparities found at decision-making points along the child welfare pathway is essential to understanding and addressing the overrepresentation of African American children. Although research has documented the existence of disparities, it has been less successful in identifying the explanatory factors behind them. Critiques of research examining these disparities have suggested that poverty is likely a stronger explanatory factor than race, yet analyses that include measures of poverty using data from child welfare systems have largely not been conducted. This study uses data from the Texas child welfare system to identify the factors contributing to disparities at the substantiation decision. Given the relationship between poverty and child maltreatment, the analyses control for the effect of family income, as well as other factors related to maltreatment, to better understand the effect of race on this decision-making point. Findings indicate that when family income is controlled, race is not a significant factor in the substantiation decision. However, when also controlling for caseworker perceptions of risk, race emerges as the stronger explanatory factor. This suggests not only an important relationship between race, income, and risk assessment, but also that disproportionality in the child welfare system is a complex phenomenon that cannot be explained by a single factor. These results further demonstrate that the effect of racial bias on decision-making remains an important consideration in understanding the overrepresentation of African American children.     

Parenthood in the Twenty-First Century: African American Grandparents as Surrogate Parents

African American grandparents serve important roles as surrogate parents. Historically they are honored and recognized for their extraordinary service in augmenting the child welfare system. This article provides a contemporary view of the significant number of African American grandparents who serve as surrogate parents. Their assets and challenges are discussed. Following on the work by Dr. Linda Burton and collaborators in 1995, this article addresses the relationship between temporal context, developmental context, and ethnic/racial context of the life course as it relates to grandparenthood in the twenty-first century. In addition to the discussion of African American grand-parenting trends, challenges and benefits in the twenty-first century, the article presents implications of these contexts for the surrogate parenting by older African Americans relative to social work education, research, and policy.     

Systemic differences in views on risk: A comparative case vignette study of risk assessment in England,Norway and the United States (California)

This article examines how child welfare workers from three countries assess risk to a child in the context of different risk assessment tools, child welfare systems and welfare regimes. Previous research suggests that there are distinct differences between child protection-oriented child welfare systems such as England and the U.S., and family service-oriented child welfare systems such as Norway (Gilbert et al., 2011). We use a case vignette method to analyze how 299 child welfare workers from England, Norway and California (U.S.) assess risk. The case vignette describes the case of ‘Beatrice’, a nine year-old girl of Black African descent who was born with an organic heart disease and a cleft palate. We found that respondents from California assessed the risk to be the lowest, followed by respondents from England and Norway. The risk factors that respondents highlighted as important for their assessment also varied significantly between countries, displaying different perceptions of elements in a case constituting risk. Respondents from Norway, who, comparatively, practice within the context of the least regulated assessment platform, identified the most homogenous assessments and types of reasoning, whereas both the assessment of risk levels and identifications of risk factors were more heterogeneous among workers in England and California. We argue that the different risk assessment tools only partly influence what workers identify as risk factors in a case, and that type of welfare states and child welfare systems is also an influence. This study thus supports existing scholarship on the distinctions between child welfare systems. However, we also found significant differences in perceptions of risk factors between England and the United States.     

Voices of African American Grandmothers Raising Grandchildren

ABSTRACT

This study examines cultural solutions to challenges perceived by African American grandmothers as they interface with kinship care policy-practice in raising their grandchildren under the auspices of the US child welfare system. Findings suggest the study participants desire to have a voice in the kinship policy-practice process, to be valued, and to have the child welfare system treat them as true partners and valuable experts. The grandmothers provide clear directives to child welfare, kinship policymakers and administrators on specific steps they can take to demonstrate respect for the grandmothers' experiences and expertise.     

The Importance of Early,Targeted Intervention: The Effect of Family,Maternal, and Child Characteristics on the Use of Physical Discipline

Secondary analysis of Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Study longitudinal data explored family, parent, and child factors that contribute to the use of physical discipline with infants and toddlers. The sample included mothers (N = 1,580) who self reported the use of spanking at 14, 24, and 36 months. Eighteen percent of the mothers (n = 287) indicated that their children experienced consistent physical discipline. Data were analyzed using binary logistic regression. Participation in parenting classes resulted in a 30% reduction in the use of physical discipline. For every year older the mother was at the birth of the child, there was a 7% decrease in physical discipline. Increased knowledge of child development reduced spanking by 35%. Implications for social work practice with families of young children are discussed.     

Longitudinal trends in substance use and mental health service needs in child welfare

Caregiver substance use and mental health problems have long been discussed as concerns in promoting positive child welfare outcomes. Yet the absence of longitudinal data focused on racial/ethnic differences in service needs and substance use has limited child welfare systems in their ability to address potential disparities. This study examines racial/ethnic trends in service needs and patterns of substances used among child welfare-involved caregivers over a 15-year period (2000–2015) from a large, urban county located in the Midwestern United States. Substance use service needs showed an increase over time among White non-Hispanic individuals, and declined over time for all racial/ethnic minority groups. Mental health service needs increased over time, with White non-Hispanic individuals experiencing the largest increase. Co-occurring service needs showed a moderate increase for all groups. Trends associated with service needs across the lifespan were relatively similar across racial and ethnic groups, with needs peaking between ages 30 and 35. When examining specific substances used, cocaine use decreased over time for all individuals. However, marijuana use increased substantially for Black/African American individuals, while opioid use increased substantially for White non-Hispanic individuals. These results highlight key areas where trends among child welfare-involved caregivers differ from population-based trends and suggest that improved coordination between child welfare agencies, mental health and substance use treatment providers may be a key step in reducing the disparities observed.     

Patterns of child maltreatment referrals among Asian and Pacific Islander families

Much of the available data on Asian American families who become involved with the child welfare system relies on global ethnic categories, such as the category Asian/Pacific Islander. To explore the diversity of experience that is hidden by such categories, this article analyzes two years of child maltreatment referrals for Asian and Pacific Island families in Washington state. The study findings show that considerable variation exists within the Asian and Pacific Islander population with regard to child protection referrals. Although Asian Americans as a whole were less likely to be referred to child protective services than other groups, the within group picture that these data capture is considerably more complex. Some Asian/Pacific Islander ethnic groups, particularly those which have experienced higher levels of social and economic stress, were more at risk of child welfare involvement than other groups. Such findings underscore the need for child welfare policies and practice that are sensitive to the considerable variability within the Asian/Pacific Islander community.