Racial Disparities in the Child Welfare System: Using Research to Guide Disparity Reduction Efforts

1. Racial Disparities in the Child Welfare System: Using Research to Guide Disparity Reduction Efforts Brad Richardson, Ph.D. Univ. of IA School of Social Work National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice DMC Resource Center DennetteDerezotes, MSW Race Matters Consortium Center for the Study of Social Policy Julia Kleinschmit Rembert, MSW Univ. of IA School of Social Work & DMC Resource Center Sioux City Campus 1

2. What we’ll cover today . . . • Some background on disproportionality and disparities • Polk and Woodbury County MYFI projects • What the data tell us • What families tell us • Successful and promising practice changes • Replicating the approach

3. Definitions Disproportionality is the over-or-under-representation of minority children under age 18 in foster care compared to their representation in the general population (Bob Hill). Disparity is the disparate or inequitable treatment or services provided to minority children as compared to those provided to similarly situated Caucasian children (Bob Hill)

4. Extreme Disproportion (Robert Hill; Overrepresentation of Children of Color in Foster Care in 2000. Working Paper – 03/05) 14) New Mexico 3.74 13) Iowa 3.76 6) Oregon 4 .38 5) Wyoming 4.53 4) Minnesota 4.77 3) Idaho 4.84 2) New Hampshire 4.93 1) Wisconsin 5.48

5. State Efforts to Address Disproportionality In CW & JJ DMC Committee developed - 2000 JJAC allocates funds through decat DMC Resource Center at University of Iowa –SSW, National Center for Family Centered Practice, 2002 Child Welfare Better Results for Kids Redesign includes focus on disproportionality - 2003 Minority Youth and Families Initiative (MYFI) – 2003 Executive Order #5 October 2007 HF2393 requires racial impact statements 2008

6. Joint CW/JJ Efforts to Address Disproportionality Expansion of DMC Resource Center to include child welfare as well as juvenile justice (2004) Technical assistance to and evaluation of local sites Analysis of key decision points Annual state DMC Conference focused on juvenile justice, child welfare, education and public health (2004 – 2007) Child Welfare & Juvenile Justice data provided to local groups (2004) Joint CW/JJ discussions around risk assessment, wraparound alternatives and disproportionality, evidence based practice Sioux City & Polk County projects & DMC efforts

7. Renewed Leadership around CW, JJ and Disproportionality Governor’s Office Executive Order establishing Youth Race & Detention Task Force Remarks at 6th Annual conference, “Linking CW, JJ, Education & Health to Reduce Racial Disparities” Supreme Court Chief Justice “Children’s Justice Initiative” focusing on both CW & JJ Legislature Passed HF2393 requiring minority impact statement on disproportionate or unique impacts

9. MYFI – Polk County MYFI Practice Guide for Afr Am families (April 2008) - based on the Des Moines MYFI demonstration project Previous program evaluations (outcomes, practice, participant feedback) Current data under review – program, administrative, participant, NAPCWA disproportionality tool

10. Community Partnership forProtecting Children Monthly meetings Cross sectional participation Motivated by non-governmental agencies Undoing Racism training

11. Parent Partners Parents helping parents Under auspices of the Visiting Nurse Assn. Parents who successfully closed their child welfare cases helping parents newly in the system

12. Family Team Meetings Implemented by DHS Conceived to create community support Particularly helpful for families of color who are suspicious of the system

13. Rate per Thousand and Disparity Rate Indices by Race for Child Placements in Out-of-Home Care in Polk County 1

14. Where is Woodbury County? 14

15. Alaska Native Assiniboine Blackfeet Oklahoma Cherokee Cheyenne River Sioux Chippewa Crow Creek Sioux Fort Peck Sioux Wisconsin Ho-Chunk Hopi Mdewakontan Sioux Wisconsin Mille Lacs Mississippi Choctaw Mohawk Navajo Northern Cheyenne Oglala Sioux Omaha Potawatomie Rosebud Sioux Santee Sioux Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Spirit Lake Sioux Standing Rock Sioux Tunica-Biloxi Turtle Mountain Chippewa Nebraska Winnebago Yankton Sioux Tribal Affiliations of Native Children Assessed for Abuse,Woodbury CountyJanuary 2005-December 2007 15

16. Timeline: 1950s to 2005 Migration to Sioux City, IA 55 Years Later . . . 1998 Community Initiative for Native Children and Families(CINCF)begins meeting 2003 Recover Our Children (ROC): Memorial Marches for Lost Children Iowa Indian Child Welfare Act 2004 Minority Youth and Family Initiative funded DMC Resource Center begins providing technical assistance Accurate accounting of child welfare-involved Native children 2005 Native Unit begins work 16

17. Timeline: 2006 to present 2006 (Casey) Alliance and Race Matters Consortium provides technical assistance Evaluation shows families served by Native Unit improve in functioning and risk of re-abuse is reduced Iowa DHS launches Redesign 2007 Alliance-funded advocate helps Native families navigate or avoid system involvement Evaluation shows DHS-involved Native families and community encouraged by new approaches to Native families Other research shows differences between how DHS and community providers and others perceive DHS approach, effectiveness, and ability to communicate 2008 Family Drug Court begins Juvenile Court Services, DHS, courts, and community providers engage in “Crossover” project to address youth who are both child welfare and juvenile justice-involved. 17

18. Practice that makes a difference… starting with the end in mind Native American children are safely raised in the Native community.

19. The people Native family liaisons - 2 Supervisor Social workers - 4 Child Protection workers The Native Unit “ . . . I was surprised that they gave me a chance to participate in placement for my niece because of my past history with DHS. People change and the Unit recognized that and gave me a chance.”

20. Tools & approaches Work with all self-identified Native children as if ICWA-eligible Working with relatives immediately Connecting with Tribes early and often Emphasis on Relative/Community/Tribal Networks Flexible resource dollar pool New approaches to recruiting Native foster parents Strong focus on cultural competence Helping non-Native foster and adoptive parents become more culturally competent The Native Unit

21. Iowa Children’s Justice Initiative One family – one judge Review of quality of representation Attorney surveys Attorney training

22. Woodbury County ScorecardDecision Making Stages • Accepted Reports • Child Welfare System Involvement • In Home vs Out of Home Services • Voluntary vs Court Ordered Services • Initial Out of Home Placements • Permanencies

23. Data Definitions – Disproportionality Rate

24. Data Definitions – Rate per Thousand The number of children of a particular group in the child welfare system for every 1000 children of the same group in the general population.

25. Data Definitions – Disparity Ratio

26. How do we know this is working? • Data • ICWA Compliance Reviews • System Involvement • Out of Home vs. Family-Centered Placement • Placement for children in out of home care • Voluntary vs. Court-ordered involvement • Scorecard Update

27. ICWA Compliance Review: Casereading 2008

28. Basic Scorecard

29. Disproportionality Rate, Rate per Thousand and Disparity Ratio Indices by Race or Children in Initial Out of Home Placements in Woodbury County, Iowa 2007

30. Initial Accepted ReportsRate per thousand children in the general population of the same race/ ethnicity Woodbury County, Iowa 2005-2008 All Data for this table obtained from Iowa Department of Human Services

32. Number of Children Receiving Services from Woodbury County DHS in One Month, 2005 -2008 (in home and out of home) All Data for this table obtained from Iowa Department of Human Services

34. All Data for these tables obtained from Iowa Department of Human Services

36. All Data for these tables obtained from Iowa Department of Human Services

37. Initial Out-of-Home Placements Rate per thousand children in the general population of the same race/ ethnicity Woodbury County, Iowa FY05 - FY07 All Data for this table obtained from Iowa Department of Human Services

38. PermanenciesRate per thousand children in the general population of the same race/ ethnicity Woodbury County, Iowa 2005-2007 All Data for this table obtained from Iowa Department of Human Services

39. National Association of Professional Child Welfare Administrators Disproportionality Diagnostic Tool Woodbury County (Sioux City, IA) 2006 compared to 2008) NAPCWA Disproportionality Diagnostic Tool Disproportionality: Developing a Public Agency Strategy By Danna Fabella, Sandra Slappey, Brad Richardson, Anita Light & Susan Christie July 2, 2007 http://www.napcwa.org/DDT/ddt_main.asp

40. National Association of Professional Child Welfare Administrators Disproportionality Diagnostic Tool Woodbury County (Sioux City, IA) 2006 compared to 2008) Society

41. National Association of Professional Child Welfare Administrators Disproportionality Diagnostic Tool Woodbury County (Sioux City, IA) 2006 compared to 2008) System

42. National Association of Professional Child Welfare Administrators Disproportionality Diagnostic Tool Woodbury County (Sioux City, IA) 2006 compared to 2008) Individual

43. Key Services/Practice ImprovementsWoodbury County • Emphasis on Relative/Community/Tribal Networks • Flexible resource dollar pool • Strong focus on cultural competence • Understand when the case does not belong at DHS • Knowing how to plug in community resources and collaborate with the Native Community

44. Key Services/Practice ImprovementsWoodbury County • Looking at relative placement right away • Utilizing Tribal Liaisons from the time of CPS Assessment • Closer working relationship between social workers and CPS workers • Supervisor, family, DHS worker, Tribe operating from the same page • Training to keep you doing the right thing – reinforcing that it is not our job to create “model” families, whatever that is. We are to keep kids safe. • Judge training has helped them understand that ICWA requires IMMINENT danger for removal, not that abuse is likely

45. Practice advances:How a Liaison works • Coaching workers on understanding Native families and their dynamics. • Asking: Is this a SAFETY issue? Are basic needs being met? • Can we utilize community/other resources to meet the needs of these families? • Is removal REALLY necessary? • Contingent on social workers really utilizing Liaison expertise

46. Key Services/Practice ImprovementsPolk County Community-based services that are individualized Building on strengths Meeting the needs of children and families across life domains to promote success, safety and permanence in the home, school and community Facilitating family team meetings, Providing community outreach promoting Family Team Decision Making within the African American community engage informal and community-based resources & supports

47. Documentation of Intervention and Practice Improvement for Replication http://www.uiowa.edu/~nrcfcp/dmcrc/myfi.shtml

48. (Casey) Alliance: 6 Dimensions of Change necessary for long-term reform Legislation, Policy Change and Finance Reform Research, Evaluation and Data-Based Decision-making Youth, Parent and Community Partnership and Development Public Will and Communication Human Service Workforce Development Practice Change (site-based implementation) 48

49. Area Tribes CASA Casey/CSSP Alliance on Racial Equity Child Advocacy Center Iowa DHS Woodbury County DHS Iowa Legislature Local Human Rights Commission NICWA Native Service Providers Race Matters Consortium Recover Our Children (ROC) Sioux City Police Department Third Judicial District Tribal Council Leaders Tribal Domestic Violence workers University of Iowa University of South Dakota Woodbury County Administration Partnersin Change

50. Racial Disparities in the Child Welfare System: Using Research to Guide Disparity Reduction Efforts Brad Richardson, Ph.D. Univ. of IA School of Social Work National Resource Center for Family Centered Practice DMC Resource Center DennetteDerezotes, MSW Race Matters Consortium Center for the Study of Social Policy Julia Kleinschmit Rembert, MSW Univ. of IA School of Social Work & DMC Resource Center Sioux City Campus 50