New research indicates that, once poverty is controlled for, Black families enter child protection and foster care at lower rates than Whites. This complements other studies showing that poverty, which disproportionately impacts BIPOC families, is the biggest driver of racial disparities in child welfare.
Part of the message is that an all-star team of thirteen noted child welfare researchers published this paper jointly. They’re trying to make it hard to ignore. It’s the academic equivalent of jumping up and down and waving their arms to get our attention.
This does not mean that worker bias never affects decision-making. However, the authors contend that racial disparities in child welfare “cannot be resolved by any reform strategy that focuses solely on the actions of Child Protection Services or the behavior of mandatory reporters.” Instead, efforts to alleviate poverty should get more weight.
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Read the transcript here.
Excellent summary of this important article!