Child protective services decision-making: The role of children’s race and county factors.

Abstract

The current study investigates the role of race and county characteristics in substantiation and outof-home placement decisions in the United States. Using multi-level models, we analyzed data from counties in the United States available through the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data Systems and Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System to investigate the interactions between children's race and the context in which they live. Our sample consisted exclusively of children whose cases had been investigated, therefore we were able to focus on the role played by race and county-characteristics in substantiation and out-of-home placement decisions made by CPS, net of the heightened risk factors (or potential biases) that lead to disparate rates of reporting. Adjusting for state and county of investigation, Black, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and multi-racial children were more likely than White (non-Hispanic) children to be substantiated or placed out of home, while Asian children were less likely to be substantiated or placed out of home. Notably, differences across groups are far smaller in magnitude when demographic and geographic differences are taken into account. Higher countylevel poverty, percentages of Black residents, and juvenile arrest rates were associated with lower odds of substantiation and out-of-home placement among investigated children, whereas an elevated percentage of single-headed households was associated with higher odds of both outcomes. We also found that living in a rural county was associated with greater odds of substantiation, but lower odds of out-of-home placement. Important differences by race were found for these associations.

That Which is Essential has been Made Invisible: The Need to Bring a Structural Risk Perspective to Reduce Racial Disproportionality in Child Welfare

“…Socioeconomic structural factors converge with structural racism, leading to the overrepresentation of Black, Indigenous, and Latino families and children in CPS relative to their percentages of the US population (CWIG 2016 ). This discrepancy is more pronounced and more consistent for children and families who are Black and Indigenous than it is for children and families who are Latino (Maguire-Jack et al 2020 ). 2 In contrast to these groups, White families are proportionally underrepresented in their CPS involvement.…”

“…2 In contrast to these groups, White families are proportionally underrepresented in their CPS involvement. Research has also consistently noted under-representation of children who are Asian American or Pacific Islander (Maguire-Jack et al 2020 ; AECF 2020 ).…”

It is not a broken system, it is a system that needs to be broken: the upEND movement to abolish the child welfare system

“…Much of the research on racial disparities has focused on entries into foster care, as well as exits from care, given the lifelong impacts these decisions have on children and families. Research on these decision points consistently shows that Black children are more likely to be removed from their homes and placed into foster care than White children (e.g., Maguire-Jack, Font, & Dillard, 2020;Putnam-Hornstein et al, 2013). Once in foster care, studies show that Black children are less likely to be reunified with their families, experience greater placement instability, and spend longer time in foster care before achieving some form of permanency than White children (e.g., Huggins-Hoyt, Briggs, Mowbray, & Allen, 2019;Miller, 2008).…”

Transforming the paradigm of child welfare

“…The most recent National Incidence Study estimates that the number of children harmed by maltreatment was 1,256,600: families, siblings, relatives, and providers are also affected by these cases, thus causing a ripple effect that can often cripple entire communities (Sedlak et al, 2010). Researchers have also noted inequalities in reporting for CPS related to race and ethnicity (Cort, Cerulli, & He, 2010; Maguire-Jack, Font, & Dillard, 2020), which can result in children being placed in care with families that they don't know, in different communities, and sometimes with families that are racially and ethnically different.…”

“…Further, there is little understanding on the intersectionality of age, race, gender, culture, and sexual orientation for children and caregivers in terms of screening, assessment, and referral for CAN. Research has documented an over-reporting of children of color to CPS (Cort et al, 2010; Maguire-Jack, Font, & Dillard, 2020; Raz, 2020). It is imperative for research to be used by child-serving professionals to make the best decisions informed by science.…”