Child Welfare Services and Ethno-Racial Diversity

1. Child Welfare Services and Ethno-Racial Diversity Dr. Sarah Maiter email: smaiter@wlu.ca

2. Understanding Child Welfare Steele; Belskey • Four Areas to consider: • Parent Factors • Child Factors • Environmental factors • Availability of Social Supports

3. Challenge of Framework • How to make the framework meaningful and applicable to people from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds?

4. Key Issues to Consider • Race, ethnicity, and culture are important sociological concepts and have material and social consequences for people so must be considered in analysis. • This consideration can result in greater, albeit tentative and exploratory understanding of the contexts of diverse people.

5. Traditional Approach • We have tried to understand a groups ‘culture’ in order to provide appropriate services. • Yet the outcome of this has been that we have explored issues in a culture that we think result in child maltreatment. • Thus for example it would not be uncommon to hear some of the following statements in a child welfare setting:

6. Some Generalizations • “In their culture they demand obedience from children, therefore, they do not treat children as individuals with rights…” • “Why don’t they let their daughter go on a date…she is fifteen years old…”

7. Generalizations • “It maybe alright in their country…but here it is against the law…” • “it is their culture to discipline their children harshly…”

8. Training that can be harmful Statements such as the following in training • Some ethnic or cultural backgrounds may be more likely to condone severe spankings or beatings as a form of discipline.

9. Further Concerns: Accepting problem behaviour as ‘cultural’ • One example • A judge gives a man a lighter sentence for sodomizing his daughter. The judge asserts that this is a culturally sensitive approach as the man protected the daughters virginity which, the judge says is important in the family’s religion.

10. What does this say about our approach to ethno/racial/cultural diversity • We continue to see this diversity as different and other. • This difference and being the other is judged as being inferior. • This is not new, it has been the case historically and seeing the difference as inferior has made it possible to colonize and conquer.

11. Impact in Child Welfare • We tend to see groups as monoliths • We focus on ‘problems’ within a culture • Different ways of living are seen as problematic • Child abuse and neglect are seen to have been caused by culture • Focus is on getting the family to change this cultural behaviour • And we fail to provide appropriate ongoing services • Settlement needs of immigrant families are seen as a burden on Canadian Society

12. Research in Counseling raises concerns 50% of persons of color terminated counseling after one session compared to 30% of white persons. Reasons cited: • lack of non-white staff, • traditional approach to service provision, • poor responses to the educational and vocational needs of ethnically diverse clients, • antagonistic response to culture, class, and language. (Sue & Sue 1990)

13. Moving ForwardSelf Awarness • On a personal level Self Awareness is critical. • We need to be reflective. • Recognize that we are influenced in a myriad ways by history, current events, the media, etc. • Affects our perceptions and interactions with members of diverse groups. • Embedded in our institutions.

14. Moving ForwardBeing Aware of the Context Along with self-awareness we must increase our knowledge of the context of members of diverse ethno-racial groups –in non-judgmental ways. • Knowledge of the daily experiences of racism • For Newcomers - struggles around settlement issues -- both at the personal and societal levels. • Knowledge of broad cultural differences, e.g. collectivist and individualistic cultural differences. • Knowledge of problems that are universal, e.g. oppression of the less powerful (women, children) in any group. • Societal struggles within particular groups to fight this oppression.