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The Evolving Understanding of Disproportionality and Disparities in Child Welfare

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Handbook of Child Maltreatment

Part of the book series: Child Maltreatment ((MALT,volume 2))

Abstract

Racial disproportionality and disparities have long represented prominent concerns in child welfare. Recent research concerning differential rates of maltreatment among racial groups and increased awareness of differential risk factors has brought increased attention to this issue. These findings have led to calls to reevaluate efforts to address disproportionality, particularly those efforts that have focused on reducing racial bias within child welfare systems, with critics contending that it is not bias, but disproportionate need that results in disproportionality. Yet others contend that racial bias still plays a role in contributing to disproportionality, despite differences in rates of maltreatment. This chapter will address this debate and discuss how the understanding of disproportionality has evolved over time. The chapter will propose recommendations for addressing disproportionality and disparities based on current evidence that allows for the acknowledgement of differing risk and rates of maltreatment, while also acknowledging the potential for racial bias to exacerbate these differences.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Disproportionality has also been observed among Native American/Alaska Native children at the national level. As of 2010, Native American/Alaska Native children represented 1.9 % of children in foster care and 0.9 % of children in the general population (Summers et al. 2012). However, the body of research on disproportionality, as well as the current debate concerning the appropriate response to disproportionality, has focused primarily on Black children.

  2. 2.

    Additionally, the reference population can be either the general child population or the population of children that experience a particular event (e.g., investigated reports of maltreatment).

  3. 3.

    The disproportionality ratio for Black children is calculated by dividing the percentage of Black children in substitute care for a given year by the percentage of Black children in the child population (under 18) in the same year.

  4. 4.

    A more thorough description of the utility of decision-point analyses and the differences between population-based and decision-based denominators can be found in Fluke et al. (2011).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jane Addams College of Social Work (MC 309), University of Illinois at Chicago, 1040 W. Harrison, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA

    Alan J. Dettlaff Ph.D., MSW

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  1. Alan J. Dettlaff Ph.D., MSW
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Correspondence to Alan J. Dettlaff Ph.D., MSW .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Arts and Sciences, Schubert Center for Child Studies, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    Jill E. Korbin

  2. University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA

    Richard D. Krugman

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Dettlaff, A.J. (2014). The Evolving Understanding of Disproportionality and Disparities in Child Welfare. In: Korbin, J., Krugman, R. (eds) Handbook of Child Maltreatment. Child Maltreatment, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7208-3_8

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