Disproportionality in the Child Welfare System: The North Carolina Project

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Disproportionality in the Child Welfare System
The North Carolina Project

• Tamika D. Williams, MSW
• Adoption Program Coordinator
• N.C. Division of Social Services
• Tamika.Williams_at_ncmail.net

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Background

• Throughout the years, North Carolina has
  implemented various social welfare philosophies,
  initiatives, policies, and practices that are
  intended to appropriately capture and serve
  families and children who become known to the
  child welfare system without partiality.
  However, the African American population
  continues to enter the foster care system, have
  longer stays in foster care and exit foster care
  without legal permanence at higher rates than
  other racial groups.

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Eight Initiatives Implemented in North Carolina

• Multiple Response System
• Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA)
• Statewide contracts with private adoption
  agencies
• Contracts for the Special Children Adoption Fund
• Special Children Adoption Incentive Fund
• Annie E. Casey Foundation (Family to Family,
  Breakthrough Series)
• Structured intake and standardized risk
  assessment tools
• IV-E Waiver

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Authors thoughts on contributing factors

• Single parent households
• Poverty in North Carolina
• Educational Levels of Biological Parents
• Unavailable Relatives
• Age of children with plan of adoption
• Number of placements

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Authors thoughts of contributing factors

• Paternal relatives not sought
• Rural versus urban
• Substance Abuse
• Culture -Cultural Incompetence
• Racism
• ASFA

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Question

• What has been the impact of the seven
  aforementioned promising practices and the
  movement to permanency of African American
  children legally free for adoption?

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Rationale

• At any given time in NC,
• Approximately 800 children are available for
  adoption.
• More than half of these children are African
  Americans between 0-18 years of age.
• African American children enter the foster care
  system, have longer stays and exit without legal
  permanence more often than other racial groups.

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Summary of actions

• Review of North Carolina child welfare statistics
• Review of literature on disproportionality
• Review of literature on adoptions in child
  welfare
• Interviews with local departments of social
  services staff

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The Literature

• States with the highest levels of
  overrepresentation for Black children tended to
  have the highest number of promising practices in
  place, including subsidized guardianship.
• States with the highest levels of
  overrepresentation of Black and Hispanic children
  were more likely to have satellite offices or
  community immersion programs for child welfare.

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The Literaturecont

• States with the lowest levels of
  overrepresentation tended to have less widespread
  but more targeted, local programs for reducing
  overrepresentation.
• States with the lowest rates of
  overrepresentation of Black and Hispanic children
  were most likely to have dependency drug courts
  and cultural competence training.

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DATA SOURCES

• NC DSS-5094 Child Placement and Payment System
• NC DSS-5095 Child Placement and Payment System
  (Adoption)
• United States Census Bureau
• UNC School of Social Work Child Welfare Database
• North Carolina Division of Social Services
  Adoption Policy Manual
• Personal Interviews
• County Survey of Initiatives
• 2003 AFCARS (Adoptions and Foster Care Analysis
  and Reporting System)

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North Carolina County Data Review

• Reviewed 12 Counties Counties were selected
  based upon county population and state
  geographical location
• Data from three counties was extrapolated and
  used for the purpose of this presentation
• These counties were similar in African American
  population density independent of population and
  size

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Selected County Data-County A

• African Americans
• Are 40 percent of the county population
• with 20.1 percent of the population under the age
  of 18.
• There are no (0) African American children in
  foster care.

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Selected County Data - County B

• African Americans
• Are 30.7 of the county population
• with 24.2 under 18 years of age.
• African American children entering foster care
  during the following FY represented -
• 57 - 2004 57 - 2005 61 - 2006
• African American children are 1.5 to 2 times more
  likely to enter foster care than Caucasian
  children.

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Selected County Data - County B

• African American children
• Are less likely (69) to be in foster care at the
  360th day of custody than Caucasian children
  (73)
• Are less likely (22) to be placed with relatives
  during their initial placement as compared to
  (32) of their Caucasian children
• Of the 82 children legally free for adoption on
  August 31, 2006, 70 of them are African American

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Selected County Data- County C

• African Americans
• Are 38.4 of population
• with 24.4 under 18 years of age
• African American children entering foster care
  during during the FY 2004-2006
• 69 - 2004 75 - 2005 81 - 2006
• African American children are 2.7 times to 6
  times more likely to enter foster care than
  Caucasian children

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Selected County Data County C

• African American children
• Are more likely (71) to be in foster care at the
  360th day of custody than Caucasian children
  (55)
• Are slightly more likely (30) to be placed with
  relatives during their initial placement as
  compared to (26) of Caucasian children
• Of the 34 children legally free for adoption on
  August 31, 2006, 79 of the children are African
  American

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Lessons learned from reviewing the 8 initiatives
in selected counties

• Multiple Response System
• Implemented in most counties in the state
  counties gradually implemented
• Family assessment and meet with everyone about
  family. More family centered.
• Too soon to know the affect on disproportion
• Adoption and Safe Families Act
• Hurts African American families more. 12 months
  to permanence
• Issue of Substance Abuse is a lifelong process.
  Yields more TPR and children lingering in
  custody.
• Parent have triple diagnosis Substance Abuse,
  Mental Illness and Developmental Delays
• Workers can negotiate ASFA when they assess the
  family and make the determination for the family
  based on best interest and not ASFA timelines, if
  the two dont coincide however this may affect
  Child Family Service Review outcomes
• Structured Intake
• Has been a positive tool for child welfare,
  however disproportionality remains
• Captures specific family events and should be
  race neutral.
• Separates poverty from neglect
• Less children are coming into care but the
  disproportionality remains

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Lessons learned from reviewing the 8 initiatives
in selected counties

• Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Family to Family
• Targeted community recruitment is an asset
• Has helped efforts to keep children in their own
  community
• Building community trust has been a formidable
  task
• Breakthrough Series
• Only scratched the surface in a year of
  implementation
• Undoing Racism is a critical part of the
  process
• Found there is a difference among blacks and
  white. View world through different lenses.
• Statewide Contracts with Private Adoption
  Agencies
• Referrals vary based upon county knowledge and
  belief in achievable outcomes
• Have achieved adoption outcomes for several
  hundred children irregardless of race
• Another Choice For Black Children has had the
  most comparable success with targeted recruitment
  for African American children

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Lessons learned from reviewing the 8 initiatives
in selected counties

• Contracts for Special Children Adoption Fund
• Has yielded contracts with 16 private adoption
  agency to partner with local county department of
  social service to place children for adoption
• Supports county and private adoption programs by
  providing financial support to agency who meet
  adoption baseline
• Has yielded more agencies applying for Adoption
  Assistance for eligible children
• Agencies have used funds to support marginal
  families in their adoption pursuits.
• Counties have difficulty meeting the baseline
  and/or are not able to expend funds in the
  required time
• Special Children Adoption Incentive Fund
• Counties have to elect to participate at a 50
  match to State Funds
• More than 100 children with extreme medical or
  physical needs have achieved adoption due to Fund

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Struggles

• Numerous and complex issues contribute to
  disproportionality
• How to narrow the scope of the question
• What kind of pilot could sufficiently address the
  complexity of disproportionality
• What data to include and what to exclude
• How to balance statistics without boring audience
• Making time to focus on project
• Understanding assignment

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Authors Reflections on Action Research

• Desire to problem solve rather than pose
  questions
• One question leads to another question
• Ongoing process

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Authors Insights

• Poverty and Substance Abuse transcend race and
  yet African Americans remain more at risk than
  other racial groups within to the Child Welfare
  System.
• African American children continue to linger in
  foster care without support services, more often
  than other racial groups.
• Child welfare is a reflection of the wider
  population and systems of care there is a
  disproportionality in resources and services for
  African Americans.

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Authors Final Thoughts

• Institutional racism plays a pivotal role in
  African Americans entry, move, and stay in the
  foster care system.
• African Americans are more likely to be placed
  with relatives, but resources to maintain these
  homes or make them legally secure placements for
  children are sparse or non-existent. These
  families are not given the support to maintain
  children within their home.
• African Americans have greater success when
  families are able to maintain faith, community,
  and family connection. When these traditional
  cultural norms are significantly severed, other
  societal connections do not manifest and families
  suffer a disconnect.

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Authors Final Thoughts

• Situational and generational poverty are
  contributing factors.
• Appropriate and sustained Substance Abuse
  Treatment and Mental Health programs in the
  community affect African American outcomes
• The belief system of staff members have an effect
  on the outcomes for children and families.
• A proliferation of general child welfare
  initiatives does not yield targeted outcomes for
  African American children.

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Next Steps

• Increase awareness of disproportionality through
  county trainings
• Have courageous conversations about
  disproportionality in Child Welfare
• Participate in Undoing Racism