Children and Family

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Children and Family
Research Center
Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality in Illinois
Child Welfare Nancy Rolock Race Matters
Conference Call November 4, 2008
School of Social Work
Dr. Mark Testa, Director
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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1996 Highest Per Capita Rate African Americans
Over-Represented
Illinois is highest at 17.1 79 African American
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Per-Capita Rate Fell to 6 per 1000 in 2005 But
Still Long Way To Go
Illinois at 6 per 1,000 children African
American children are 63
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Figure 1. Illinois Children in Care
Permanency Initiative Subsidized
Guardianship Performance Contracting (1997)
HMR Reform (1995)
Reid Settlement (1992)
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Prevent Removal
Illinois Child Welfare System 2007
Illinois Child Welfare System 2007
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Points of Intervention

• Prevent the removal of children from their
  nuclear and extend families when their safety can
  be assured.
• Provide continuity and stability through
  placements with kin when foster care is needed.
• Restore children to family permanence by
  connecting them to kinship adoptive and guardian
  homes when reunification is no longer
  recommended.
• Over-Representation Failure to address racial
  disparities at any of these points of
  intervention contributes to the
  over-representation of African-American children
  in the child welfare system.

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Measuring Regional Disproportionality
Weighted risk ratio When racial demographics
vary substantially from one region to the next,
it standardizes the risk ratio to that of the
state so that comparisons can be made across the
state. Weighted risk ratio for African American
Regional Risk for AA
A Weighted risk for all other children
(all non-AA) weighted according to the racial
composition of the state
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Children and Family
Research Center
Prevent Removals
School of Social Work
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
TM
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Children and Family
Research Center
Provide Continuity and Stability
School of Social Work
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
TM
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Children and Family
Research Center
Restore Children to Family Permanence
School of Social Work
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
TM
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Caucasian
Hispanic
African American
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Caucasian
Hispanic
African American
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Children and Family
Research Center
Methodology
School of Social Work
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
TM
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Methodology
Weighted risk ratio for African American
(1-state African American composition)
Region African American risk for outcome /
(State Caucasian composition Region Caucasian
risk for outcome) (State Hispanic composition
Region Hispanic risk for outcome) (State Other
composition Region Other risk for outcome)
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Fictitious State Data
In both communities, 45 of African American
children are reunified
Community Z Risk Ratio for African American
children is 2.14
Community Y Risk Ratio for African American
children is 1.60
Weighted Risk Ratio for African American children
in either community is 2.18
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Methodology
Thanks to Westat Methods for Assessing
Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality in Special
Education A Technical Assistance Guide, July
2007 (PDF) available at https//www.ideadata.org/
TAMaterial.asp Bollmer, Julie, Bethel, James,
Garrison-Mogren, Roberta, and Brauen, Marsha,
Using the Risk Ratio to Assess Racial/Ethnic
Disproportionality in Special Education at the
School-District Level Journal of Special
Education, v41 n3 p186-198 Fall 2007.
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Children and Family
Research Center
Paper is available on our website
http//cfrcwww.social.uiuc.edu
School of Social Work
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
TM