Michigan’s Child Welfare System Why is Overrepresentation a Critical Issue?

Overrepresentation: General label for both racial disproportionality and racial disparity n Racial Disproportionality - A situation where racial minorities occur in the child welfare population at rates higher than the occurrence in general population n Racial Disparity - Occurs when the rate of disproportionality of one racial group, (e.g., African Americans) exceeds that of a comparison group (e.g., White Americans)

High Stakes n 600,000 Children in Foster Care n Reason for Placement –Neglect65% –Abuse25% n Almost 50% of Children in care are 11 Years or older n Native American Youth have the highest suicide rate of any group of youth in the U.S.

n For Children who stay in foster care four or more years, the median number of placements is 37 (varies widely) n African American Children represent 15% of all US Children, but account for 28% entering care in  38% of those Children are still in care

The Picture for Older Youth n Generally teens who ‘age out’ of care entered as teensOUTCOMES(?) n 50% graduated from High School or have a GED (85% of all youth between have graduated/GED) n 25% endured a period of homelessness n 70% have not maintained a job for a year n One in four Males and one in ten Females have spent time in jail

Wayne County’s Picture n 2,310 youth in care are 14 and older –13 y/o503 –14 y/o548 –15 y/o478 –16 y/o466 –17 y/o397 –18 y/o264 –19 and older157

Wayne County’s Picture n 1,971 of the older youth in care are African American n 4 American Indian/Alaskan Native n 307 White n 45 have Hispanic ethnicity n 1,200 Female n 1,090 Male

Wayne County’s Picture 429 Currently in a Foster Home 381 in a Private Child Placing Institution 74 in a Public Shelter 591 in Relative Home

Michigan’s Picture

What are the Contributing Issues (CSSP Survey) n Confusion between poverty and neglect n System inability to educate public & partners on abuse, neglect in a context of cultural issues n Substance use & mental health services and housing n Not enough prevention and family preservation in neighborhoods

Contributing Issues continued n Lack of well-trained Gatekeepers - –What assumptions/biases are operative? (color “blindness’ leads to to biased ‘lens’ and treatment) n Culturally competent staff –Training –Supervision n Historic lack of trust of the system on the part of minority communities n Cultural biases at key decision points n State management disproportionally white

Contributing Issues continued n Resources n Individual perception, denial of racism within system n Defensiveness about issues makes it difficult to discuss n Lack of data about effectiveness of all services, including foster care n Not giving parents and youth a voice n No accountability for system outcomes n Connection between neglect, foster care, juvenile justice

Where Do We Go From Here?