2. Research Synthesis on Child Welfare Disproportionality and Disparities: Child Welfare Entries
John Fluke, Ph.D.
Child Protection Research Center
Child Welfare
American Humane Association
Race & Child Welfare: Disproportionality, Disparity, Discrimination:
Re-Assessing the Facts, Re-Thinking the Policy Options -Working Conference
Harvard Law School , Cambridge, MA
January 28, 2011

3. Acknowledgements Supported by: Center for the Study of Social Policy
Annie E. Casey Foundation
Co-authors:
Brenda Jones Harden, Ph.D.
Department of Human Development, University of Maryland
Molly Jenkins, M.S.W.
Ashleigh Ruehrdanz
Child Protection Research Center, Child Welfare, American Humane Association
This presentation represents the presenter’s perspective on the topic, and not necessarily the views of the co-authors.

4. Overview The Review and Definitions Explanatory Framework Incidence
Enumerating Entries
Explaining Entries
What Research is Needed?

5. Review Scope Roughly based on research since 2006
Intention was to be objective
Peer review and fugitive literature
Review contains over 200 references
Over 400 documents were considered for inclusion
Definitions
Disproportionality
Disparity
Discrimination

6. Disproportionality and Disparity (Myers, 2010)
Disproportionality is the ratio of the percent of persons of a certain race or ethnicity in a target population (e.g., children who are substantiated for maltreatment) to the percentage of persons of the same group in a reference (or base) population.
Disparity is the comparison of the ratio of one race or ethnic group in an event to the representation of another race or ethnic group who experienced the same event. A disparity exists when the ratios being compared are not equal.
Discrimination is the unequal treatment of identically situated groups. Such groups can be considered identical with respect to the most important features related to the situation being analyzed; however, being able to define circumstances as perfectly identical is probably not possible. Nevertheless, the identification of disparities may be the first step in identifying possible discrimination.

7. Explanatory Framework
Racial Disproportionality and Disparity in Child Welfare
FAMILY RISKS
Poverty
Substance Abuse
Single Parenthood
Mental Health Challenges
Intimate Partner Violence
Parent Incarceration
Child Age and Functioning
RACIAL BIAS/DISCRIMINATION
Reporter Bias
Caseworker Bias
Cultural Sensitivity and Competence
Institutional Racism
SYSTEM PROCESSES AND RESOURCES
Lack of Agency Resources
Caseworker Factors
Lack of Culturally Appropriate Services
Caseworker/family race matching
Multiplicative processes
GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT
Neighborhood Segregation
Neighborhood Economic and Social Resources
Concentration of poverty
Jurisdiction-specific child welfare policy and practice

8. Incidence/Prevalence Studies
Dietz (2002)
Household survey /Conflict Tactics Scale
Differences (bi-variate and multi-variate) in harsh disciplinary practices between African American and White caregivers
Finkelhor, et al. (2005)
Household survey/Juvenile Victims Questionnaire (multiple forms of victimization)
No bi-variate differences between White, African American, and Hispanics
Very preliminary findings at this stage

9. Incidence/Prevalence Studies
Westat, NIS
Applies to sentinels (professionals in contact with children) and Child Protective Services
NIS 3 and Prior NIS indicated no difference in race ethnicity
NIS 4 finds differences across overall maltreatment and several specific categories comparing Whites and African Americans (no differences between Whites and Hispanics)
Explanations
Income gaps
Sample precision
Multivariate SES (> differences in not low SES), Family Structure

10. Where does this leave us?
Existence or Absence of Disparities in Incidence and Prevalence Remain Unclear
Methods are a problem
Some populations are not addressed
Tendency of research is that some disparities do exist for African Americans
Causes are subtle and explained to some extent, but research is very weak
Relationship to Child Welfare
If disparities in incidence exist for African Americans, then we might expect more African American children to be in the system regardless of what the system is doing
Underlines the importance of comparing differences using decision point based denominators

11. Incidence?

12. Enumerating Disparities and Disproportionality in Decision Points
Population Based Denominator Ratios
Based on data from one child welfare decision (e.g., new placements/population)
Easiest to obtain
Decision Based Denominator Ratios
Based on data from at least two child welfare decisions (e.g., new placements/opened cases)
Relationship
Population Based Denominatork = e( ∑ ln(Decision Based Denominatori))

14. Community Resources (worker)
Explaining Removals at the Worker Level (DME/GADM) (Baumann, et al. 2010)
Disparity Index
Percent on Caseload
Skills (AA only)
Removals
Workload (worker)
Community Resources (worker)
Family Poverty
Family Risk Level - - - - +
AA Only + +

15. Explaining Removals
The relationship between the case factors risk, race, and poverty may be difficult for caseworkers to understand because they are intertwined.
The perception of lower interpersonal skills, an individual factor, is related to greater disparities in the removal of African American children.
Having fewer African American or Hispanic families on one’s caseload, an organizational factor, is associated with greater disparities in the removal of African American or Hispanic children.
Removals themselves are increased when the caseworker believes the services in the areas in which they work to be inadequate (organizational). Removals are decreased when the worker believes their caseloads are too high (organizational).

16. Summary: Many aspects of the issue need to be better understood from research
Incidence/prevalence
Absence of key groups (e.g., American Indians, Hispanics)
Issues with race coding and enumeration particularly in secondary analyses
For entries Issues of Use of Population or Decision Based Denominators
Most of what we know is emergent, not planned research.
Few multivariate and multi-level analysis of explanatory factors
No experiments, except vignettes
Formulation of hypotheses:
how and when disparities are inequities (either under or over served)
how to effectively reduce inequities
Impact of resource gaps and the capacities of communities