Abstract
Disproportionality and disparities in the treatment of children of color has been a growing concern in the child welfare system. System stakeholders have begun to recognize the problem through data, which help identify discrepancies within their jurisdictions. Nationally, the primary concern is the overrepresentation of African American children within the child welfare system, where African Americans represent proportions of the foster population at a level more than twice as high as they are represented in the community at large. In some jurisdictions, however, this is only one piece of the disproportionality concern. San Jose, for example, has both an overrepresentation of African American and an overrepresentation of Hispanic children in the child welfare system. Because San Jose’s child welfare population is unique, they have had to take a unique approach to addressing these concerns. This article outlines strategies and tools used to begin reducing disproportionality within the child welfare and juvenile dependency court system, using San Jose’s experience as an example. Some of the key approaches to addressing disproportionality include ensuring a systems approach (creating a Cross Agency Systems Team that prioritizes services for parents and children in various systems, e.g., mental health, substance abuse, etc.); addressing disproportionality from multiple perspectives and examining the roles’ of caseworkers, supervisors, service providers, judges, and attorneys; gaining community and system stakeholder buy-in by maintaining momentum and providing opportunities for dialogue about the complex issues facing families of color; using a data-driven approach to inform ongoing initiatives and changes in policy and practice (e.g., closely examining policies and practices such as the frequency of recommendations to by-pass reunification services); and implementing changes in practice at multiple levels including child welfare and on the bench. The examination of San Jose’s approach reveals challenges, successes, and lessons learned.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Disproportionality rates for 2003 were calculated using the 2003 Adoption and Foster Care Reporting System and 2000 Census population data.
References
Bantel, K., & Jackson, S. (1989). Top management and innovations in banking: Does the composition of the team make a difference? Strategic Management Journal, 10, 107–124. doi:10.1002/smj.4250100709.
Bell, C. C., Wells, S. J., & Merritt, L. M. (2009). Integrating cultural competency and empirically-based practices in child welfare services: A model based on community psychiatry field principles of health. Children and Youth Services Review, 31, 1206–1213. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2009.08.011.
Bilchick, S., & Stagner, M. (2009). Racial and ethnic disparity and disproportionality in child welfare and juvenile justice: A compendium. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Center for Juvenile Justice Reform; Chicago, IL: Chapin Hall.
California Newsreel. (2003). Race—the power of an illusion. http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm.
Casey Family Programs. (2005). Knowing who you are. http://www.casey.org/resources/initiatives/KnowingWhoYouAre/default.htm.
Chibnall, S., Dutch, N. M., Jones-Harden, B., Brown, A., Gourdine, R., Smith, J., et al. (2003). Children of color in the child welfare system: Perspectives from the child welfare community. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.
Church, W. T. (2006). From start to finish: The duration of Hispanic children in out-of home placements. Children and Youth Services Review, 28, 1007–1023. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2005.10.005.
County of Santa Clara Social Services Agency. (2007). Targeted grant to increase the well-being of, and to improve the permanency outcomes for, children affected by methamphetamine or other substance abuse. Funding opportunity number: HHS-2007-ACF-ACYF-CU-0022.
Cox, T. H., Lobel, S. A., & McLeod, P. L. (1991). Effects of ethnic group cultural differences on cooperative and competitive behavior on a group task. Academy of Management Journal, 34, 827–847. doi:10.2307/256391.
De Dreu, C. K., & West, M. A. (2001). Minority dissent and team innovation: The importance of participation in decision making. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 1191–1201. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.86.6.1191.
Diaz-Lazaro, C. M., & Cohen, B. B. (2001). Cross-cultural contact in counseling training. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 29, 41–56. doi:10.1002/j.2161-1912.2001.tb00502.x.
Dobbin, S. A., Gatowski, S. I., & Maxwell, D. I. (2004). Building a better collaboration: Facilitating change in the court and child welfare system. Reno, NV: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
Gatowski, S. I., Maze, C. L., & Miller, N. B. (2008). Courts catalyzing change: Achieving equity and fairness in foster care- transforming examination into action. Juvenile and Family Justice Today, 17(3), 16–20.
Hill, R. B. (2006). Synthesis of research on disproportionality in child welfare: An update. Seattle, WA: Casey-CSSP Alliance for Racial Equity in the Child Welfare System.
Hill, R. B. (2007). An analysis of racial/ethnic disproportionality and disparity at the national, state, and county levels. Seattle, WA: Casey-CSSP Alliance for Racial Equity in the Child Welfare System.
Hines, A., Lee, P. A., Drabble, L., Lemon, K., Chow, J., Perez, A., et al. (2003). An evaluation of factors related to the disproportionate representation of children of color in Santa Clara County’s child welfare system: Child welfare practices and ethnic/racial disproportionality in the child welfare system: Phase III Final Report. San Jose, CA: San Jose State University College of Social Work.
Hines, A., Lee, P. A., Drabble, L., Snowden, L. R., & Lemon, K. (2002). An evaluation of factors related to the disproportionate representation of children of color in Santa Clara County’s child welfare system: Child and family characteristics and pathways through the system: Phase 2 final report. San Jose, CA: San Jose State University College of Social Work.
Hines, A., Merdinger, J., Lee, P. A., & Coach, M. (2001). An evaluation of factors related to the disproportionate representation of children of color in Santa Clara County’s child welfare system: Exploratory phase. San Jose, CA: San Jose State University College of Social Work.
Jackson, S. E. (1992). Consequences of group composition for the interpersonal dynamics of strategic issue processing. Advances in Strategic Management, 8, 345–382.
Kingdon, J. W. (2003). Agendas, alternatives, and public policies (2nd ed.). New York: Addison-Wesley.
Koontz, T.M. (2006). Collaboration for sustainability? A framework for analyzing government impacts in collaborative environmental management. Sustainability: Science, Practice, Policy, 2(1), 15–24. http://scholar.google.com/archives/vol2iss1/0507-011.koontz.html.
Lightbourne, W. (2006). Children of color task force status report. Unpublished report presented to the County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors, San Jose, CA.
Luger, L. (2011). Enhancing cultural competence in staff working with people with drug and alcohol problems—a multidimensional approach to evaluating the impact of education. Social Work Education, 30, 223–235. doi:10.1080/02615479.2011.540398.
Luke, J. (1998). Catalytic leadership: Strategies for an interconnected world. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Marsh, S. C. (2009). The lens of implicit bias. Juvenile & Family Justice Today, 18(3), 16–19.
McLeod, P. L., Lobel, S. A., & Cox, T. H. (1996). Ethnic diversity and creativity in small groups. Small Group Research, 27, 248–264. doi:10.1177/1046496496272003.
Miller, N. B., & Maze, C. L. (2010). Right from the start: The CCC preliminary protective hearing benchcard: A tool for judicial decision-making. Reno, NV: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. (2011). Courts catalyzing change preliminary protective hearing benchcard study report: Testing a tool for judicial decision-making. Reno, NV: Author.
Pelled, L. H., Eisenhardt, K. M., & Xin, K. R. (1999). Exploring the black box: An analysis of work group diversity, conflict, and performance. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44, 1–28. doi:10.2307/2667029.
Rivera, H. P. (2002). Developing collaborations between child welfare agencies and Latino communities. Child Welfare, 81, 371–384.
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. (May 19, 2009). Resolution in recognition of the Child Welfare System population as a priority population of the County of Santa Clara.
Santa Clara County Unified Children of Color Task force. (2007). 2007 Plan to address ethnic disproportionality in child welfare services. San Jose, CA: Author.
Santa Clara County Unified Children of Color Task force. (2010). 2010 action plan to address racial disproportionality in the Santa Clara child welfare system. San Jose, CA: Author.
Sedlak, A. J., McPherson, K., & Barnali, D. (2010). Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-4): Supplementary analysis of race differences in child maltreatment rates in the NIS-4. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.
Sommers, S. R. (2006). On racial diversity and group decision-making: Identifying multiple effects of racial composition on jury deliberations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 597–612. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.90.4.597.
SPHERE Institute. (2010). Disproportionate representation in the child welfare caseload in Santa Clara County. Retrieved from http://www.cacscc.org/DisproportionateEntryintoFosterCarein2077-2009.pdf .
Summers, A., Wood, S., & Russell, J. (2012). Disproportionality rates for children of color in foster care. Reno, NV: National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
Tuckman, B. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63, 384–399. doi:10.1037/h0022100.
United Way Silicon Valley. (2006). Connecting a world apart in Silicon Valley: Health and human services summit 2006: Community impact report update. Retrieved from http://www.uwsv.org/sites/uwsvc2.oneeach.org/files/2006_Summit_CI_Update_Report.pdf.
Unity Care Group, Inc. (2010). The NIA project. Retrieved June 21, 2010 from http://www.unitycare.org/services/.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2009). Census bureau estimates nearly half of children under age 5 are minorities. Retrieved April 29, 2010 from http://www.census.gov/PressRelease/www/releases/archives/population/013733.html.
Wellman, B., & Lipton, L. (2004). Data-driven dialogue. Sherman, CT: MiraVia.
Acknolwedgements
The authors wish to acknowledge that this material is made possible by Cooperative Agreement No. 2009-MU-MU-K001 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view or opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice or the National Council of Juvenile and Family Courts Judges.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Duarte, C.S., Summers, A. A Three-Pronged Approach to Addressing Racial Disproportionality and Disparities in Child Welfare: The Santa Clara County Example of Leadership, Collaboration and Data-Driven Decisions. Child Adolesc Soc Work J 30, 1–19 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-012-0279-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-012-0279-8