As is well known, African American and Native American children are disproportionately represented in Minnesota’s child welfare caseloads.
The policy and training improvements being implemented to address this issue are important, but need to be augmented by more operating-level solutions.
For example, an earlier blog featured this TED Talk about race blind decision-making in Nassau County, NY. Before children are sent to foster care, a committee reviews workers’ findings – but with any information related to race screened out. This approach lowered the percentage of black children removed from their homes from 57% to 21%.
This new St. Louis County “Safe Babies Court” is connecting biological and foster parents to strengthen the bond between the child and the birth family.
Minnesota needs more practical solutions like these to significantly reduce disproportionality.