Former Child Welfare Caseworker and Social Work Researcher Acknowledges Higher Rates of Child Removals and the Destruction of Black Families
I recently stumbled across a new TED Talk conference/video, hosted by social worker and scholar Dr. Jessica Pryce, which reiterates what I and other child welfare reform advocates are already well aware of; child welfare professionals not only target black families but also are significantly less likely to provide in-home support and services to black families experiencing state and/or DHS intervention.
Highlights
— White families, even in similar situations as their black counterparts, are far more likely to be kept together and to receive help and supports from the child welfare system and child welfare professionals.
— White families are less likely to go through a full child welfare investigation.
— Research done at the University of Pennsylvania found that black children are four times more likely to be removed, they spend longer periods of time in foster care, and it’s harder to find them a stable foster placement.
— Research done at the University of Minnesota found that kids who went through foster care had more behavioral problems and internalized issues than kids who remain with their families while receiving help and support.
— Research further concludes that there are twice as many black kids in foster care, twenty-eight percent, then there are in the general population, 14 percent.
— According to Emma Ketteringham, a family court attorney, if you live in a poor neighborhood (like a high percentage of black families do), then you better be a perfect parent.
— The predominately white run child welfare system, places unfair, often unreachable standards on parents who are raising their kids with very little money.
— That the neighborhood and ethnicity of the parent(s) impact whether or not their children are and will be removed.
— That “implicit bias” greatly contributes to the differences and negative outcomes of black families within the child welfare system.
One of Many Solutions to the Problem of Over-representation of and Discrimination against Black Families.
Dr. Pryce believes, per her own extensive research and expertise, that Blind Removal Meetings, are one of the best ways to combat the issue.
How Blind Removal Meetings Work
A case worker responds to a report of child abuse. They go out to the home, but before the children are removed, the case worker must come back to the office and present what they found.
What Makes Bind Removals Different and Distinctive from Regular Removals:
When the case worker present their findings to the committee, they DELETE the names, ethnicity, neighborhood, race, and all other identifiable information. They focus on what happened, family strength, relevant history and the parents’ ability to protect the child. With that information, the committee makes a recommendation, never knowing the race of the family.
Blind removals have made a drastic and positive impact in the target community. In 2011, and prior to introducing blind removals, 57 percent of the children entering foster care were black. However, after five years of blind removals, that number was down to 21 percent.
In Conclusion
So while 21 percent is still higher than ideal, it is significantly lower; and as an child welfare reform and parent advocate, I believe that blind removals are defiantly a step in the right directions and more importantly something that can be implemented immediately and on a large scale. Moreover, blind removals can be implemented concurrently with and in addition to federal and/or state legislation (ei. the African American Child Welfare Act, The Minnesota African American Family Preservation Act) that I and other advocates have been calling for.
#NAFPAorg #AfricanAmericanChildWelfareAct #BlackFamilyMatters #BlackLoveMatters #BlackLivesMatter #BlackFamiliesBelongTogether #BlackHistory #KeepBlackFamiliesTogether #RacistDHS #AbolishCPS
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Latagia Copeland-Tyronce, MSW, CADAS, is a longtime parental rights and social justice advocate, child welfare reform activist, writer/blogger, and journalist whose work has been featured in BlackMattersUs and Rise Magazine. She is the founder, president, and executive director of the National African American Families First and Preservation Association (NAFPA) a groundbreaking 501c4 nonprofit origination, the first of its kind, devoted exclusively to the protection and preservation of the African American (Black) Family though policy and legislative advocacy.
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