Increase Exits from Foster Care to Permanency

States’ efforts to achieve greater equity for children of color in child welfare services are still in the early stages. Promising policies and practices are emerging that include regularly tracking progress with data, stronger preventive and family reunification services, effective use of kinship care, and partnerships between child welfare agencies and community-based organizations. Eleven states—California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, and Washington—have addressed racial disparities and disproportionality through public policy activities. 

What Can Policymakers Do?

1.     Legislation, Policy Change, Finance Reform. In general, the state mandates include the following:

• Monitoring legislation and programs that affect African American families and/or families of color;
• Assisting state agencies with designing programs to enhance the well-being of African American families and/or families of color;
• Facilitating the participation of constituents in the development and implementation of community-based services; and
• Offering a series of administrative and legislative recommendations to reduce existing disparities

2.   Youth, Parent and Community Partnership and Development. In order to effectively educate the public about the issues facing child welfare systems, communities and local stakeholders must be engaged, which may include convening town hall meetings and community for a designed to hear from community residents, leaders, and other constituents to garner local support.  

3.      Public Will and Communication.  Developing youth, parent, and community partnerships enables businesses, schools, and family-serving agencies to work together toward achieving a common goal and to provide unified leadership in addressing racial disproportionality. Increasing public awareness of the issues facing the child welfare system is critical in the creation of comprehensive action plans and strategies aimed at addressing racial disproportionality.

4.       Human Service Workforce Development. Developing a culturally competent workforce in the child welfare system entails acting individually and collectively to eliminate decisions that lead to negative outcomes for families of color. This means creating an institution in which all families have equal access to needed services and opportunities that enhance their well-being. Several state systems  have instituted cultural competence^[i] and anti-racism training for child welfare and other staff.^[ii]

5.      Practice Change. Three major forms of practice changes were reported and/or recommended to improve the well-being of African American children and families involved in the child welfare system: Family Group Decision Making, Differential Response, and recruiting families to adopt or foster children.  

6.      Research, Evaluation and Data-Based Decision-making. Through the collection and analysis of data, states can better understand the extent and dimensions of racial disproportionality in their jurisdictions. This understanding enables agencies to diagnose systemic problems and to assess the impact of various reform efforts. Annual reports made available to the general community are effective strategies for educating the public and can serve as an accountability mechanism for the progress being made to reach established benchmarks.

What the Research Shows. Children of color involved with the child welfare system experience significantly worse outcomes than non-minority children.  They have a higher occurence of placement changes, receive fewer supports, stay in the system longer, and are less likely to be adopted or reunited with their families. ^[iii] Children of color also receive fewer contacts by caseworkers, less access to mental health services, less access to drug treatment services, and are placed in detention or correctional facilities at higher rates. ^[iv]  In addition, children of color as overrepresented at all decision points of the child welfare system: reporting, investigation, substantiation, placement, and exit from care. ^[v]  To date, the only stage where no racial differences have been identified in research studies was in the reentry into the child welfare system. ^[vi] These racial disparities have given rise to a belief that lasting improvements in the child welfare system are not possible unless these inequities are eliminated. In light of the issues raised by this consistent research and data, states have begun actively addressing disproportionality and disparities through public policy actions.