Racial Disparities in the Child Welfare System

Contact: Susan J. Wells

Mary Pfohl Alex BeutelScotty Daniels Ila Kamath

Conducted by: African American Disparities Committee, Minnesota Department of Human Services and University of Minnesota

Case Study Analysis by the University of Minnesota

Question Guiding the Project

Through a case study, can we better identify the mechanisms that lead to racial disproportionality and disparity?

Matched Case Study Goal: 103 Pairs Matched on

Age group (0-5 and 6-11) Reason for referral - type of neglect Gender County

Assessment Outcome

Percent Concordance for Matched Pairs: Opened for Case Management Services During Assessment

33.0 17.5 50.5

11.7 37.9 49.5

44.7 55.3N=103 100%

No

Yes

AfricanAmericanChild of the Pair

Total

No Yes

Caucasian Child of the Pair

Total

McNemar level of significance p = .362Not significant finding

Case Management Outcome 1Matched Pairs

McNemar Level of Significance p = 1.0 Not significant

Percent Concordance for Matched Pairs:Child Placed in Case Management Services

44.4%

22.2%

66.7%

22.2%

11.1%

33.3% N=18

66.7%

33.3%

100%

No

Yes

African American Child of Pair

Total

No Yes

Caucasian Child Of Pair

Total

Case Management Outcome 3 Matched Pairs

5.6 16.7 22.2

16.7 61.1 77.8N=18

22.2 77.8 100%

No

Yes

African AmericanChild of Pair

Total

No Yes

Caucasian ChildOf Pair

Total

McNemar Level of Significance p = 1.0 Not significant finding

Percent Concordance for Matched Pairs:Case Closed in Case Management

Reunification Outcome 1Comparison of All Cases

80.0 20.0 100.0

88.5 11.5 100.0

N=46*84.8 15.2 100%

African American

Caucasian

Race ofChild

Total

No Yes

Court Order forReunification Services

Not Needed

Total

Fisher's Exact Level of Significance p = .650Not Significant finding

Court Order Indicated Reunification Services Not Necessary by Race

*One case missing.

Reunification Outcome 2Comparison of All CasesDischarged from Reunification Placement by Race

35.3 64.7 100.0%

39.1 60.9 100.0%N=40*

37.5 62.5 100%

AfricanAmerican

Caucasian

Race ofChild

Total

No Yes

Discharge fromReunification Placement

Total

Fisher's Level of Significance p = .534 Not significant finding

* 6 cases had court order that reunification not necessary and one case missing.

Multivariate Analysis

Using information about several case descriptors at once, what predicts more severe intervention?That is, was the case referred for

Reunification Services at any time during the intervention process?(Does not included cases that were in placement initially but when home right away.)

*Intensiveness of intervention is placement out of home long enough to require reunification services.

  Beta Std. Error

Statistical Significance

Odds for More Intensive Intervention

Caucasian 1.9 .88 .03 7:1

Age of the Child -.39 .10 .00 1.5:1

for every year younger

History of Maltreatment

1.6 .51 .00 5:1

Mom Drug Problem

.03 .67 n.s. -

Mom Financial Problem

-1.06 .77 n.s. -

African American * Age

.30 .13 .02 1.3:1

for every year older up to 11 years of age

African American * Mom Drug Problem

2.9 .96 .00 18:1

Caucasian * Mom Financial Problem

3.63 1.05 .00 38:1

Example of Model Predicting Intensiveness of Intervention

-1.00

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1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

7.00

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10.00

11.00

AGE recorded at time of maltreatment

0.00

20.00

40.00

60.00

80.00

100.00

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RACEB

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Percent Referred for Placement (in Which Referral for Reunification Services was Made)

by Age

Summary

Some case characteristics may lead to differential treatment by race.

In some studies, when all available variables are taken into account for the larger population, the differences appear to cancel each other out.

Racial Disparities in Minnesota

May be concentrated at the front end and back end of services (reporting, substantiation, placement in assessment, and overall length of time in care)

Disproportionality may also occur due to the distribution of selected case characteristics in the larger population