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.     

Looking beneath and in-between the hidden surfaces: a critical review of defining,measuring and contextualizing mental health service disparities in the child welfare system

Efforts to understand and respond to racial and ethnic disparities in referrals to and use of mental health services among children involved in the child welfare system are constrained by the lack of consistency in defining and measuring disparities and the lack of clarity as to what causal mechanisms sustain patterns of disparate treatment. Recent developments in the field of public health offer some insight as to how our understanding of similar disparities in child welfare may be advanced. Despite advancements, there is still an insufficient knowledge base from which to offer an alternative definition of disparities that illuminates conceptual and methodological innovation in child welfare research. Based on a critical review of the literature, more exploratory and etiological research grounded in implementation of advanced metrics and multivariate methods is warranted to generate a clear definition. Recommendations are offered to address conceptual ambiguity.     

Conducting culturally competent evaluations of child welfare programs and practices

As the population of the United States has changed over the last two decades, so has the population of children who come to the attention of the child welfare system, resulting in increasing calls for cultural competence in all aspects of child welfare programming and practice. Given the changing demographics among children involved in the child weltare system and the increasing need to address the racial and ethnic disparities observed in this system, the need for culturally competent approaches to evaluate the outcomes of services for children and families is essential. This article discusses the challenges in conducting culturally competent evaluations and provides strategies to address those challenges within a child welfare context.     

Low Birth Weight and Parental Investment: Do Parents Favor the Fittest Child?

Do parents contribute to birth weight disparities in status attainment? This study uses a nationally representative sample of 8,550 children and 1,450 twins from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study–Birth Cohort to investigate whether, as recent studies have suggested, parents favor healthier children. Children with poor health are found to receive fewer parental investments, including breast‐feeding and quality parent–child interaction, but results from between‐ and within‐family regression models, using low birth weight as a proxy for child health, find no evidence that parents compensate for or reinforce child health endowments. Instead, birth‐weight disparities in parental investment are linked with observable family, maternal, and child sociodemographic characteristics. Our results raise doubts about the utility of human capital models to explain health disparities in parental investment and shed new light on the broad spectrum of disadvantage faced by children with poor health.     

Ethnic disproportionality in the child welfare system: A Norwegian national cohort study

This study of Norwegian child welfare clients examined the extent to which ethnic disparities in involvement with the child welfare system can be attributed to ethnic differences in sociodemographic background. Using logistic regression models and a unique dataset constructed by linking child welfare records to national administrative registers for the 1993–1994 birth cohorts, we computed ethnic disparities in the odds of child welfare involvement at age 6–12 (N = 122,894), both before and after adjustments for sociodemographic background. Compared with ethnic Norwegian cohort peers, non-Western children had twice the unadjusted odds of entering the child welfare system (odds ratio = 2.13). However, the data also indicated pronounced ethnic disparities in eight sociodemographic correlates of child welfare involvement. When adjustments for these background factors were modeled, we found no ethnic differences in the odds of child welfare involvement. Our findings suggest that the association between ethnicity and child welfare involvement is confounded by differences in socioeconomic status, maternal social assistance, family size and family structure.     

Do children in foster care receive appropriate treatment for asthma?

Asthma is the most common childhood chronic disease, and children in foster care have the highest rates of chronic conditions of any studied child population. The purpose of this study is to determine whether there are disparities in asthma management and health care utilization between children in foster care and other children covered by Medicaid in the state of Illinois. We use performance measures developed by the state child welfare system as well as those developed by the National Committee on Quality Assurance and used throughout the country. The study sample was drawn from linked administrative data on children in foster care and paid Medicaid claims. In order to determine the influence of living arrangement setting within the child welfare system, children in foster care were further grouped according to whether they lived in a stable home setting, a stable congregate care setting, or other living arrangement. We found that children living in home settings performed better on most performance measures than income-eligible Medicaid children. In contrast, children with asthma living in congregate care were particularly vulnerable as reflected in poor asthma care measurements and high utilization of hospitalizations despite positive performance on indicators of medication use. This population presents a significant challenge to the child welfare and health care delivery systems.     

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.     

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.     

Explaining the Early Development and Health of Teen Mothers’ Children1

The transmission of social disadvantage from teenage mothers to their children is well established, but when and why do these disparities emerge in the early life course? Using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study‐Birth Cohort, this study investigated the relationship between teen childbearing and children’s cognition, behavior, and health from infancy through preschool. Developmental disparities between teenage mothers’ children and others were largely nonexistent at nine months but accumulated with age. Having a teenage mother predicted compromised development across several domains by age four and a half. Our conceptual model expected preexisting disadvantage, ongoing resource disadvantage, and compromised parenting quality to explain the association between teen childbearing and child outcomes. Preexisting social disadvantage accounted for much of this relationship. Financial, social, and material resources in the child’s household partially or fully explained each of the remaining significant relationships between teenage childbearing and child outcomes. Parenting quality explained a smaller proportion of these relationships than did resources, and these factors’ influences were largely independent. Because children of teenage mothers with a modest set of resources were not predicted to have compromised development, resources provided in early childhood may have the potential to reduce developmental disparities for teenage mothers’ children.     

Unequal opportunities among unequal states: The importance of examining state characteristics in making social welfare policies regarding children

This paper examines the disparate social well-being outcomes children experience across states in the United States. The paper seeks to extend the study of child social well-being by examining the extent to which state characteristics influence aggregate child social well-being outcomes. The results indicate that socioeconomic and population characteristics of states influence the magnitude of aggregate child social well-being deficits. It is argued that the disparities in child social well-being outcomes for children across states should be taken into consideration in the current welfare reform climate. Because states have gained greater control over programs that assist the poorest and most vulnerable families and children, states with large child social well-being deficits will likely experience even larger deficits as many state TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) policies and practices do not adequately support poor 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.     

Temporal effects of distressed housing on early childhood risk factors and kindergarten readiness

Poor housing quality and housing crises have been linked to adverse outcomes for children. However, few studies have focused on the early childhood period or been able to pinpoint how the timing and duration of housing problems contributes to early educational success. This longitudinal study draws on linked administrative records from housing, education, social service and health agencies to examine the influence of exposure to housing neighborhood conditions since birth on school readiness of all children entering kindergarten over a four-year period in a big city school system. Using marginal structural models that properly account for dynamic housing and neighborhood selection, we find that children exposed to problematic housing and disadvantaged neighborhoods have lower kindergarten readiness scores after accounting for other factors. The negative effects of housing problems on kindergarten readiness are partially mediated by child maltreatment incidences, residential instability, and elevated blood lead levels. Communities are advised to pay more attention to distressed housing as a cause of disparities in early child development and school readiness.     

The Social Construction of Child Social Control via Criminalization and Medicalization: Why Race Matters

Scholars point to two trends in the social construction of child social control: criminalization and medicalization. To control child behavior, schools and parents turn to strategies motivated by both the criminal justice and mental health systems. For example, school suspension and expulsion rates in the United States have increased alongside the use of therapy or medication for children diagnosed with behavior disorders. Despite these concurrent trends, research rarely considers how criminalization and medicalization operate as opposing or collaborative approaches to child misbehavior. In this article, I take advantage of a prospective longitudinal panel study to examine patterns of school punishment and/or the medicalization in a sample of children between the ages of 5 and 14 over 25 years. Findings demonstrate that black children have higher odds of experiencing punishment than white children, but Hispanic children do not. Additionally, black and Hispanic children have lower odds of receiving therapy or medication than white children. Furthermore, racial/ethnic disparities in punishment or therapy/medication use vary across children with higher or lower behavior problem scores. I discuss these findings in light of historical trends in the social construction of child behavior and social control     

Child maltreatment dynamics among immigrant and U.S. born Latino children: Findings from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being (NSCAW)

Latino children are the largest and fastest growing ethnic minority group in the United States, and the proportion of child maltreatment victims who are of Latino ethnicity has been growing since 2000. However, our knowledge of the characteristics, maltreatment patterns, and risk factors associated with maltreatment among immigrant and U.S. born Latino children and their families has been incomplete. The goals of this study are to establish the national prevalence of immigrant and U.S. born Latino children who come to the attention of child welfare systems in the United States; to expand our knowledge regarding the role of nativity in child maltreatment patterns among Latinos; and to determine if disparities in child maltreatment patterns and risks exist among Latino families using data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being. Despite considerable risks, data indicate that immigrant Latino children are slightly underrepresented among children who present to child welfare systems when compared to the general population. Moreover, no significant differences were observed between immigrant children and U.S. born children with regard to substantiation patterns. However, significant differences emerged between the two groups in risk factors and maltreatment type, warranting further investigation.     

Context matters: The state of racial disparities in mental health services among youth reported to child welfare in 1999 and 2009

Upwards of 50% of youth reported to the child welfare system (CWS) do not receive mental health services, despite need. While children of color are less likely to receive services than Caucasians, the mechanisms through which disparities are sustained remain largely unknown. Data come from two nationally representative cohorts of youth who were referred to the CWS in 1999 and 2009. Results showed that while need for mental health services decreased, significant differences in the number of children who received services was not detected between cohorts. African American youth were less likely to receive services compared to their Caucasian counterparts, even after controlling for age, gender, type of maltreatment, and placement instability. However, after taking into account urbanicity, poverty, and the organizational-social context, the disparity between African American and Caucasian youth dissipated. Service disparities between Latino and Caucasian youth were not detected. The odds of service receipt were lower among youth nested within stressful organizational climates and urban (versus rural) counties, and the organizational-social context did not moderate the relationship between race and service receipt. Findings underscore the need to develop and implement strategies to increase access to services in urban counties and to promote an organizational climate conducive to reducing racial disparities.     

Education for children in sub-Saharan Africa: Predictors impacting school attendance

Under the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, every child is entitled to free primary school education and access to secondary school or occupational training, and education has become one of the basic indicators of child wellbeing. Large scale studies published in the 1990s and early 2000s generally showed that significant educational disparities existed based on orphan status and a child's relationship to the head of the household. Poverty, gender and rural residence were also shown to contribute to the disparities. Since the data relied on by these studies were collected, the global community has conducted major campaigns to close these gaps, through the Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This study (N = 124.592) examined these factors using eight country-years from five sub-Saharan African countries, since half of the children out of school live in that region. Findings show that considerable progress has been made to close the disparity based on orphan status, and the gender gap is also closing. However, poverty remains a challenge across all variables, and there are pockets of gender disparity for both boys and girls, particularly in areas where deeply rooted cultural and child raising patterns are retained. Most alarmingly, children who live with non-relatives have the lowest attendance rate. Continued efforts to target these groups of children and their households are urged, as well as research on the underserved children.     

The paradox of child poverty in israel

Data on the levels of child poverty in Israel indicate that it has remained consistently high and indeed is higher than that in most welfare states. This finding is paradoxical given the fact that, since its establishment fifty years ago, Israel has emphasized its commitment to the well-being of its children and to their welfare. Indeed, this approach has been reflected in a wide variety of social programmes aimed at bettering the living standards of children and of families with children. The reasons for the failure of the Israeli welfare state to deal more effectively with child poverty and deprivation over the last two decades can be linked to economic developments, such as high unemployment and inflation levels and wide wage disparities, to demographic trends such as the concentration of large, single income families among the Arab and orthodox Jewish sectors, and to policies that have encouraged privatization and have discriminated against Arab children. Social workers can play a major role in dealing with these developments by seeking more universal and equitable social policies for children in Israel.     

The Adversarial Legal Process and Divorce:

This study investigated the effects of the adversarial legal process per se upon the psychological adjustment of children of divorce. A highly controlled sample, including 23 fathers and 39 mothers, divorced for an average of 2.8 years, and a total of 103 children, was investigated. Parents were interviewed independently to assess the family system pre- and post-divorce. Divorce, as a function of the adversarial process, was categorized and entered, together with the age of child and the measures of family functioning, into a multiple linear regression. The Rutter A (2) Scale measured child adjustment. The ROLES dimension of family functioning, both pre- and post-divorce, as well as an acrimonious divorce, contributed significantly to the psychological maladjustment of children, indicating that the adversarial process does not "serve the best interests" of the child. It is recommended that the adversary process be replaced by a system of divorce mediation, via Family Courts.     

Explaining the disparity in placement instability among African-American and white children in child welfare: A Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition

African-American children in the child welfare system are at disproportionate risk of adverse experiences including placement instability. This article compares placement instability among African-American and white children in the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being and identifies mechanisms underlying racial disparities using a Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition. The type of initial out-of-home placements contributes significantly to the racial gap in placement instability. However a large amount of racial disparity remains unexplained. Additional factors, not captured by these analyses, apparently explain African-American's increased risk of placement instability. Predictors of placement instability differ between racial groups. Among African-Americans, older age, initial placement in a setting other than kinship care, and having a higher externalizing CBCL score at baseline are associated with greater instability. Among white children, however, only initial placement in a foster care setting predicted placement instability.