| Albert, 1994 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Albert, V. (1994). From child abuse
report to child welfare services. In R. P. Barth, M. E. Courtney,
J. D. Berrick, and Albert, V. From Child Abuse to Permanency Planning:
Child Welfare Services Pathways and Placements (pp. 55-75). New
York: Aldine de Gruyter. |
Database: Social
Service Reporting System (SSRS) which contains child abuse and neglect
data from the California counties of San Diego, Santa Clara, and San
Mateo.
Sample: 26,506
children whose first referral occurred between January 1991 and September
1991 (Caucasian 50%, Hispanic 28%, African-American 14%, Asian >1%). |
What are the characteristics of children
who are referred for abuse and neglect?
What does an exploration of the types and frequency of referrals for
these children reveal?
What does an examination of the dispositions of these referrals reveal? |
Chi-square measure of association |
Types of maltreatment and numbers
of maltreated children were found to be unequally distributed across
racial or ethnic groups. Children of African-American descent were
disproportionately referred to the child welfare system. Severe neglect,
general neglect and caretaker absence or incapacity were more frequent
referral reasons for children of African-American descent.
Children of African-American descent or those referred for neglect
or caretaker absence or incapacity were found to have relatively more
multiple referrals than their counterparts. |
| Ards et al., 2001 |
| Citation (Author(s),
Title, Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Ards, S. D., Myers, S. L., Chung,
C., Malkis, A., and Hagerty, B. (2001). Racial Reporting Bias
and Child Maltreatment. A paper presented at the International
Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect VIII European
Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect. August 24-27, 2001: Istanbul,
Turkey. |
Database & Sample:
The 1981, 1988 and 1996 National Incidence Studies of Child Abuse
and Neglect (NIS-1, NIS-2, and NIS-3). |
The 1990 National Child Abuse and
Neglect Data System found that African Americans were over represented
among reported and substantiated abuse and neglect cases, and the
National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect, collected in
1980, 1986 and 1993, showed no apparent overrepresentation of children
of color. How can these disparate findings be explained? |
Computation of incidence and report rates |
There may be an appearance of racial
reporting bias disproportionality due to the aggregation (bias) of
poor and non-poor children in the NIS study. |
| Ards et al., 1998 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Ards, Sheila, Chung, Chanjin, and
Myers, Samuel L., Jr. (1998). The effects of sample selection bias
on racial differences in child abuse reporting. Child Abuse &
Neglect, 22, 103-115. |
Database: The 1981
National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-1).
Sample: 3,000 child abuse cases
(2,499 White children and 511 Black children). |
Did the NIS-1 design features result
in a sample selection bias? |
Logistic regression models using maximum likelihood
methods. (The models were estimated with and without correction for
selection bias using a two- step procedure proposed by Heckman.) |
Substantial differences were found
in the characteristics of Black and White victims by source of report
and by type of maltreatment.
White victims of child maltreatment were more likely to be reported
to Child Protective Services (CPS) if they were among the lower class,
known by a law enforcement or medical agency, or female. White
victims suffering from emotional maltreatment were less likely to
be known to CPS, while White victims suffering from physical and sexual
abuse were more likely to be known.
Black maltreated children were more likely to be known by CPS if they
lived in rural areas, were older, or if they suffered from physical
abuse. Black victims were less likely to be reported to CPS if they
suffered from emotional abuse.
Conclusion:
Sample selection bias caused by the exclusion of family, friends and
neighbors in the NIS-1 sample design is a concern for the analysis
of Black victims. Without correction for selection bias, Blacks are
less likely to be reported than equally situated Whites.
With correction for selection bias there is little evidence
of racial disparities in reporting, and identical Black and
White children are just as likely to be reported to CPS.
Conclusions about racial differences in child maltreatment must be
reached cautiously, given the NIS-1 study design. |
| Ards and Harrell,
1993 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Ards, S. and Harrell, A. (1993).
Reporting of child maltreatment: A secondary analysis of the National
Incidence Surveys. Child Abuse & Neglect 17, 337-344. |
Databases: The National Studies on
Incidence and Prevalence of Child Abuse and Neglect, 1981 (NIS-1)
and 1988 (NIS-2).
Sample:
1,799 child abuse cases from 1981 (NIS-1), and 1,487 child abuse cases
from 1988 (NIS-2). |
Which kinds of child maltreatment
cases are underreported? Which kinds are overreported, or not reported
at all? Why? |
Logistic regression using maximum likelihood procedures
Multivariate analysis |
Older victims were less likely to
be known to Child Protective Services (CPS) than younger victims.
There was a hierarchy of type of abuse reported to CPS agencies, with
a larger portion of sexual abuse cases than physical and/or emotional
abuse cases, and educational neglect cases were least likely to be
reported to CPS.
The victim's race, sex and income did not play a role in whether or
not a case was reported to CPS. |
| Barth et al, 2000 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title, Source,
Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Barth, Richard P., Miller, Julie
M., Green, Rebecca L., and Baumgartner, Joy N. (2000). Children
of Color in the Child Welfare System: Toward Explaining Their Disproportionate
Involvement in Comparison to Their Numbers in the General Population.
Chapel Hill and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina: University
of North Carolina School of Social Work, Jordan Institute for Families
and Research Triangle Institute. |
Database: National Child Abuse and
Neglect Data System (NCANDS) data
Sample:
1997 data on child maltreatment from 16 states (CO, CT, FL, IL, KY,
LA, MA, NJ, OK, PA, RI, SC, UT, VT, WA, and WY); 1996 data from DE,
NC, and TX; and 1995 data from MO.
|
In a study of child abuse and racial
disproportionality, how can investigations and placements of children
be explained using ecological data?
How can service decisions (from investigation to substantiation) for
individual children be explained using ecological data? |
Multivariate analysis
Logistic regression models using SUDAAN
|
A substantial amount of the variance
in county child welfare characteristics was explained by state variance,
although the median family income and the Black mortality rate made
significant contributions to explaining the total substantiation.
African-American children were slightly more likely than Caucasian
children to be substantiated for abuse and neglect and to be placed
into foster care. African-American adolescents were significantly
less likely than Caucasian teenagers to be substantiated or placed
into foster care.
The odds of adoption for African-American children were found to be
significantly lower than they were for other children.
Most of the discrepancy observed in the 1-day counts of children in
foster care was attributable to different patterns of foster care
(i.e., more kinship care) and longer lengths of stay in foster care
for African-American children.
"Children of Color" is not
a useful concept for analyzing child welfare services dynamics.
Explaining disproportionate involvement of African-American children
in child welfare services requires a consideration of contextual factors
related to risks of harm, in addition to child welfare services, practices
and policies.
|
| Barth, 1997 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Barth, R.P. (1997). Effects of age
and race on the odds of adoption versus remaining in out-of-home care.
Child Welfare 76(2), 285-308. |
Database: A UC-Berkeley relational
database of information on all children who have entered out-of-home
care in California since 1988.
Sample: A
cohort of 3,873 children who were under six years of age when they
entered out-of-home care. |
Were children under six years of
age when they entered out-of-home care reunified with their biological
families, did they remain in out-of-home care, or did they experience
another outcome? |
Multivariate analysis
Logit analysis |
Age at the time of placement and
race/ethnicity were found to have substantial direct effects on outcomes
after four years, but there were no significant age by race interactions:
African-American children from non-kinship foster care were far less
likely than Caucasian children to be reunified with their families.
African-American children were found to be more than twice as likely
to remain in care as to be adopted. Caucasian children were about
twice as likely to be adopted as to remain in care. Latino children
were equally likely to remain in out-of-home care as to be adopted.
African-American, and to a lesser but statistically significant extent,
Latino children, were found to have dramatically diminished opportunities
to be placed in permanent adoptive homes, compared to Caucasian children. |
| Barth and Courtney,
1994 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Barth, Richard P., and Courtney,
Mark E. (1994). Timing is everything: An analysis of the time to adoption
and legalization. Social Work Research, 18, 139-148. |
Database: In a longitudinal study,
data was collected on 1,396 adopted California children between mid-1988
and mid-1989.
Sample: 496 children who had
been in foster care before adoption. |
What is the effect of child and foster
care characteristics on the timeliness of adoption?
What is the effect of child characteristics:
- On the odds that a child remains in foster care for a long time
before an adoption agreement is signed?
- On the length of time for an adoption agreement to be legalized
in court?
- On major determinants of timeliness in adoption transitions? |
Logit regression model
Survival analysis
Nonparametric methods derived from Kaplan-Meier estimation |
Ethnicity is a major determinant
in the timeliness of adoption transitions.
White children's adoptions are finalized more quickly than those of
non-White children.
Adoptions of children who were adopted by White parents were legalized
more quickly than children adopted by non-White parents. |
| Barth et al., 1994 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
Barth, Richard P.; Courtney, Mark;
Needell, Barbara; and Jonson-Reid, Melissa (1994). Performance
Indicators for Child Welfare Services in California. Berkeley:
Child Welfare Research Center. |
Database: Three data sources were
used -
1.) The SOC 291 Report on Preplacement Preventive Services
2.) The Foster Care Information System (reconfigured for longitudinal
analysis) for children with at least one placement in foster care
3.) The U.S. Census for per capita child population counts
Sample: Three types of samples were used -
1.) Random samples of children entering foster care for the first
time either between July 1989 and December 1992 or between January
1988 and December 1992
2.) A cohort sample of children entering foster care during the first
half of 1988 and followed for at least four years
3.) A cohort sample of children exiting care to reunification with
birth families in the last half of 1989 |
What are the results
of an analysis of the possible role of outcome and performance
indicators for
child welfare
services funding
and management? |
Event history analysis
|
Reunification: Generally,
African-American children were reunified with their birth parents
at a far slower rate than children belonging to other ethnic groups.
Number of Placements: The mean number of
placements during the first spell in care did not differ significantly
by age group or ethnicity.
Reentry to Foster Care:
African-American children appeared to reenter care at a slightly higher
rate than children of other ethnicities.
Outcomes
After Four Years: African-American infants and children were
more likely to still be in care and less likely to be adopted or reunified
with their families than children of other ethnicities. For children
placed between the ages of 1 and 3, Caucasian children were the most
likely to be reunified and the least likely to still be in care, followed
by Hispanic children and then African-American children. Young Caucasian
children were far more likely to be adopted then either African-American
or Hispanic children. When positive exits (reunification, adoption,
guardianship, or placement with relatives) were compared to still
being in care after four years, African-American children were less
likely to have a positive exit than children from other ethnic groups.
This difference existed for children first placed in kinship care
and those first placed with non-kin.
Performance indicators clearly vary depending on case characteristics,
and meaningful analyses of performance must take into account many
factors, including ethnicities.
As such, analysis of performance indicators requires
stratification by such factors. |
| Barth et al., 1986 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Barth, R.P., Snowden, L.R., Broeck,
E.T., Clancy, T., Jordan, C., Barusch, A.S. (1986). Contributors to
reunification or permanent out-of-home care for physically abused
children. Journal of Social Service Research 9(2/3), 31-45. |
Database: Data were collected from
case record reviews of closed cases designated in the agency court
log as physical abuse cases under California's Welfare and Institutions
code.
Sample: A purposive sample was selected
of 107 physical abuse cases opened in 1980 or 1981 and closed between
1980 and 1984 (the sample included only one child randomly selected
from each family). A second purposive sample was then drawn to increase
the number of reunified children to 80 and children in permanent out-of-home
placements to 21. |
What are the client and service characteristics
that contribute to legal reunification of the family and child or
permanent out-of-home placement for physically abused children served
under permanency planning statutes? |
Discriminate function analysis |
In this sample, the families with
the least likelihood of having their children reunified were those
who had abused their children most severely, had children with school
problems, and had the fewest socioeconomic resources, in that order
of importance. Children who were Black and older were, to a lesser
extent, more likely to have the court order that their residence be
outside of their birth homes. |
| Berrick et al.,
1994 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Berrick, J.D., Barth, R.P., and Needell,
B. (1994). A comparison of kinship foster homes and foster family
homes: Implications for kinship foster care as family preservation.
Children and Youth Service Review 16(1/2), pp. 33-63 |
Database: The University of California
at Berkeley Foster Care Database (UCB-FCD) containing information
on all children in foster care in California from January, 1988 through
1994.
Sample: 246 kin providers and 354
foster care providers |
What are the differences in providers
to and services received by kinship foster care providers and family
foster care providers?
What are their demographic characteristics?
What children are served in care?
What issues of visitation with birth parents exist? |
Comparative analysis |
African-American foster parents reported
fewer hours of social worker contact with their children than other
ethnic groups.
Caucasian foster parents were provided with more services by their
agencies than other ethnic groups.
Children of color, especially Hispanic children, were less likely
to be placed in ethnically similar homes than were Caucasian children.
Kinship foster parents were largely represented by women of color,
many of whom were single parents. |
| Block and Libowitz,
1983 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Block, N. M. and Libowitz, A. S.
(1983). Recidivism in Foster Care. New York: Child Welfare
League of America. |
Database: Records from the Jewish
Child Care Association (JCCA) on all children under age 18 who were
discharged from the JCCA during the years 1978 and 1979 to parents,
relatives, friends or adoptive parents.
Sample:
335 children |
What is the nature and extent of
recidivism?
What are the causes of recidivism in the sample?
What are the predictors of recidivism?
What services should be provided to reduce recidivism? |
Descriptive analysis
Statistical analysis using chi-square tests |
Race was found to be associated with
recidivism. Black and Hispanic children recidivated more often than
White children. |
| Cappelleri et al.,
1993 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Cappelleri, J. C., Eckenrode, J.,
and Powers, J. L. (1993). The epidemiology of child abuse: Findings
from the Second National Incidence and Prevalence Study of Child Abuse
and Neglect. American Journal of Public Health 83(11), 1622-1624. |
Database: The Second National Incidence
and Prevalence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-2).
Sample: Child abuse and neglect cases from 28 counties
in 19 states between September 7 and December 6, 1986.
|
What is the impact of five key factors
- age at discovery, gender, ethnicity, income, and county-metro status--on
sexual abuse and physical abuse? |
Multivariate logistic regression analysis |
Sexual abuse was more likely to
be found among White children than Black children.
Black children were physically abused at a significantly higher
rate than White children and children of "other" ethnic groups. |
| Close 1983 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Close, M. M. (1983). Child welfare
and people of color: Denial of equal access. Social Work Research
& Abstracts 19(4), 13-20. |
Database: The National Study of Social
Services to Children and their Families
Sample:
1,530 child welfare cases reported between January 1, 1977 and March
31, 1977 (1,046 White, 384 Black, and 100 Hispanic). |
Are the objectives of the child welfare
system, as reflected in practice, more limited for children of color
than for White children?
Do service plans and the range of services provided reflect differential
levels of comprehensiveness?
Do types of services recommended and provided seem to reflect the
differential assessments, expectations, and unequal access to certain
services? In this connection, does the system discriminate against
families of color by providing them with fewer supportive-supplemental
services and by responding more slowly to the crises they experience? |
Two-way contingency analysis
One-way analysis of variance |
It was found that children of color
did not have equal access to preferred services in the child welfare
system.
Children of color and their families received fewer services overall
and had considerably less contact with child welfare staff.
The child welfare system responded more slowly to crises that developed
in families of color. Black and Hispanic children seem to have been
denied equal access to emergency services and younger Hispanic children
were grossly underrepresented in the groups of children for whom day
care was recommended or provided. |
| Courtney and
Wong, 1996 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Courtney, M. E. and Wong, Y. L. I.
(1996) Comparing the timing of exits from substitute care. Children
and Youth Services Review 18(4/5), 307-334 |
Database: Administrative data recorded
by the child welfare authorities in the state of California containing
records of the foster care histories of all children who entered or
exited substitute care since January, 1988.
Sample:
8,625 children who entered a first episode in the foster care system
in California between Jan. 1 and June 30, 1988 and whose foster care
status was monitored through the end of December, 1992. |
How do selected child, family, and
child welfare service system variables contribute to the timing of
the three most common forms of exit from substitute care (discharge
to parent, relative, or guardian; adoption; running away from care)? |
Competing-risk analysis using Cox proportional-hazards
model |
Race and ethnicity played a role
in both of the preferred modes of exit from out-of-home care (discharge
to parent, relative, or guardian or adoption). Relative to other groups,
being African-American was associated with a significant decrease
in the probability of both discharge to family or guardian and adoption.
African-American children had lower hazards of favorable discharge,
indicating that many of them would likely remain in care indefinitely.
Latinos were somewhat less likely to exit care to adoption than Caucasians
or children of "other" backgrounds, but more likely to do so than
African Americans. |
| Courtney, 1995 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Courtney, Mark E. (1995). Reentry
of Children to Foster Care. Social Service Review, 69, 226-241. |
Database: Administrative data system
used in California to track longitudinal records of foster care histories
of all children who entered or exited care after January 1, 1988.
Sample: 6831 California children in foster care
who were discharged from their first episode between January 1 and
June 30, 1988 and whose foster care status was monitored through June
of 1991. |
What are the characteristics of those
children who return to foster care after they are reunited with their
families?
What are the effects of reentry on children and families in the foster
care system? |
Event history analysis using the Cox Proportional Hazard
Model |
A child's race was found to be associated
with the hazard rate of reentry to the foster care system after being
reunited with his or her family. The hazard rate for African Americans
was higher than all other groups, which had hazard rates which did
not significantly differ from one another.
Reentry rates for African-American children from AFDC-eligible families
were found to be twice as high as those for Caucasian children from
families not eligible for AFDC. |
| Courtney, 1994 |
| Citation (Author(s),
Title, Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Courtney, Mark E. (1994). Factors
associated with the reunification of foster children with their families.
Social Service Review, 68, 81-108. |
Database: Administrative data from
California's Foster Care Information System on all children who entered
foster care for the first time between January 1988 and May 1991.
Sample: 8,748 children |
What are the effects of child, family
and system variables on the hazard rate for family reunification? |
Event history analysis using a Cox proportional-hazards
model |
Ethnicity interacts with both
age and placement jurisdiction to affect the hazard rate for return
home. African-American children generally go home at about half
the rate of Caucasian children regardless of age-group. They also
go home more slowly than Latino children.
A child's ethnicity and the region from which the child was placed
interact to help explain transition home. Being of Latino or "other"
ethnic heritage is associated with an increase in the hazard rate
for reunification relative to other effects in the model when a
child is from Los Angeles.
Kinship care is more likely to be provided to non-White and poor
children by non-White and poor kin caregivers.
|
| Courtney, 1994 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Courtney, M. E. (1994). Reunification
from kinship and nonkinship foster care In R. P. Barth, M. E. Courtney,
J. D. Berrick, and Albert, V. From Child Abuse to Permanency Planning:
Child Welfare Services Pathways and Placements (pp. 105-134).
New York: Aldine de Gruyter. |
Database: Administrative data from
the California Foster Care Information System
Sample:
8,748 children who entered foster care for the first time between
January 1988 and May 1991. |
What are the child, family, and foster
care system variables that are associated with the timing of family
reunification? |
Event history analysis using a proportional-hazards
regression analysis |
Ethnicity and region of placements
appeared to interact with respect to the rate at which foster children
returned home. African-American children in particular tended to remain
in foster care longer than other children. |
| Courtney, 1994 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Courtney, M. E. (1994). Time to adoption.
In R. P. Barth, M. E. Courtney, J. D. Berrick, and Albert, V. From
Child Abuse to Permanency Planning: Child Welfare Services Pathways
and Placements (pp. 153-176). New York: Aldine de Gruyter. |
Database: The University of California
at Berkeley Foster Care database (UCB-FC) containing current histories
and placement histories of more than 80,000 children who entered foster
care in California between January 1988 and June 1991.
Sample:
All children who entered foster care between January 1988 and May
1989 and who were adopted by May of 1991 (n=864), were compared to
a random sample of children who entered at the same time and did not
return home or get adopted (n=1,754). |
What are the effects of child, family,
and foster care characteristics on the likelihood that foster children
will be adopted and of the timeliness of transitions that take place
in the movement toward adoption?
What are the factors affecting the likelihood of being adopted?
What is the effect of child characteristics on the odds that a child
will remain in foster care for a long time before an adoption agreement
is signed between the adoptive parent(s) and the adoption agency?
How long does it take for an adoption agreement to be legalized by
the superior court? |
Logistic regression analysis using maximum likelihood
methods |
African-American children were found
to be five times less likely to be adopted in the first three and
one-half years of care than Caucasian children.
Overall, children who entered kinship care were one-half as likely
to be adopted during their first three and one-half years of care
than other children. This effect was found to be far greater for Hispanic
children and considerably less for Caucasian children.
Children entering group home care as their initial placement, especially
Caucasian children, were less likely to be adopted within the first
three and one-half years of placement.
Adoptions by parents of color took longer to be legalized than adoptions
by Caucasian parents. |
| Downs, 1986 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Downs, S. W. (1986). Black foster
parents and agencies: Results of an eight-state study. Children
and Youth Services Review 8, 201-218. |
Database: The 1980 Survey of Foster
Parents in Eight States (Alabama, Arkansas, North Dakota, Rhode Island,
Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin)
Sample:
1,279 foster parents (32 percent of whom were Black and 68 percent
of whom were White) |
How do White and Black foster parents
differ in adopting foster kids?
How do Blacks perceive their relationship to child welfare agencies?
Are agencies supportive of Black foster parent adoption?
What is the foster parent's perception of agency support and communication? |
Bivariate and univariate analyses |
Black foster parents were found to
have somewhat more problematic relationships with child welfare and
collateral agencies, and Black foster parents were somewhat more likely
to care for children of relatives. |
| Eckenrode et
al., 1988 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Eckenrode, John; Powers, Jane; Doris,
John; Munsch, Joyce; and Bolger, Niall (1988). Substantiation of child
abuse and neglect reports. Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 56(1), 9-16. |
Database: Reports received by the
New York State Child Abuse and Maltreatment Register between April
1, 1985 and August 31, 1985.
Sample: 198
physical abuse reports, 796 sexual abuse reports and 880 child neglect
reports from the state central registry. |
What are the case factors that predict
the substantiation of reports following an investigation by child
services? |
Multiple regression analysis |
A child's ethnicity was found to
have an impact on the outcome of the investigation and varied as a
function of the type of maltreatment.
Allegations of physical abuse were more likely to be substantiated
in the cases of Black and Hispanic children than in those of White
children. In the case of Black children, this higher substantiation
rate is due to the higher likelihood of cases involving Black children
going to court. |
| Fanshel and Shinn,
1978 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Fanshel, D. and Shinn, E. B. (1978).
Children in Foster Care: A Longitudinal Investigation. New
York: Columbia University Press. |
Database: Data collected by the Columbia
University School of Social Work on all children (ages 0-12) who entered
foster care in New York City in 1966 and were then followed until
1971 in order to study their adjustment over a five year time span.
Sample: 624 children (representing 467 family
groups) who had been in care for at least 90 days and had never been
in care before. 132 of the children were White Catholic or Protestant,
31 were Jewish, 259 were Black Catholic or Protestant, and 202 were
Puerto Rican. (In families with three or nine children in foster care,
subjects were selected randomly and no family could be represented
by more than 2 children.) |
How do children separated from their
parents fare over time with extended tenure in foster care? |
Factor analysis
Multiple regression and correlational analysis |
Parental Visiting of Children:
Ethnicity was found to be one of the stronger predictors of parental
visiting. Black children experienced the least amount of parental
visiting - 50 percent of Black children were either unvisited or visited
minimally, compared to 67 percent of White children, 70 percent of
Puerto Rican children and more than 90 percent of Jewish children
who were visited frequently.
Discharge and Other
Outcomes: More Black children entered care because of abuse
or neglect than did White or Puerto Rican children. Of those children
who entered foster care because of physical illness of their parents,
Black children were discharged significantly less often than White
or Puerto Rican children.
Circumstances at Discharge:
Sixty-two percent of Jewish children returned to a home where
the parents lived together. This was true of 30 percent of the White
children and 20 percent of the Puerto Rican children. Black children
were the least likely to return to an intact family situation, although
relatives were an important resource of Black children for discharge
placement.
|
| Fein et al., 1990 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Fein, Edith; Maluccio, A.; and Kluger,
M. (1990). No More Partings: An Examination of Long-Term Foster Family
Care. Washington, DC: Child Welfare League of America. |
Database: The Connecticut State Computerized
Management System.
Sample: 779 youths in
foster family care two years or more on January 1, 1985. |
What are the characteristics of children
in both long- and short-term care?
What issues do foster youths and families face as the youths approach
emancipation?
What is the functioning of children in foster family care?
What obstacles do foster youths face when it comes to permanency planning? |
Descriptive analysis
Multiple regression analysis |
White foster care children and families
receive more services and supports than minority children and families.
African-American foster children and youths differ from youths of
other races in the following ways:
- More enter care because of neglect
- They have more stable placements
- They are placed in care at an earlier age and remain in
care longer
- Their biological parents are more likely to need treatment
for substance abuse
- Fewer enter care in adolescence (raising questions about
where black adolescents are living)
- They are the least likely to receive services.
Hispanic foster children and youths differ from youths of other races
in the following ways:
- They are younger
- More enter care because of abuse.
White foster children and youths differ from youths of other races
in the following ways:
- They are older
- The appear to have a more complex and extensive range
of problems and needs
- They are more likely to be receiving help for behavioral,
emotional and other problems
- Their foster families are more likely to have used services
such as mental health clinics and special ed programs. |
| Fein et al., 1983 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Fein, E., Maluccio, A. N., Hamilton,
V. J., Ward, D. E. (1983). After Foster Care: Outcomes of Permanency
Planning for Children. Child Welfare, 62(6), 485-562 |
Database: Survey data collected by
the Research Department of Child and Family Services in Connecticut
on all children ages 0-14 who'd been in care for at least 30 days.
Sample: 187 children who were discharged to
a permanent home from temporary foster care. |
Which children leave foster care
and where do they go?
Do these children remain in their permanent homes?
How well are the children functioning?
What services do the children need and use, and how are these related
to stressful life events?
What are the characteristics and needs of different types of permanent
homes?
What are the characteristics, histories, and situations of those children
whose placements disrupted?
How does a caseworker's permanency planning affect outcome? |
Descriptive analysis
Multiple regression analysis |
48 percent of White children went
to their biological homes, and 29 percent went to adoptive homes,
whereas 66 percent of Black children went to their biological homes,
19 percent were placed with relatives, and 9 percent were adopted.
86 percent of Hispanic children were returned to their biological
homes.
Children were found to be doing moderately well in terms of Family
Adjustment, and less well but adequate in terms of Emotional and Developmental
Functioning. Although Black children and families had such characteristics
as fewer previous returns to biological homes (during previous placements)
and lower incomes, Black children were found to be doing better in
some areas of functioning than other children. |
| Finch et al., 1986 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Finch, Stephen J., Fanshel, David,
and Grundy, John F. (1986). Factors associated with the discharge
of children from foster care. Social Work Research & Abstracts,
22, 10-18. |
Database: The New York City-based
Child Welfare Information Services (CWIS).
Sample:
20,066 children who were active in foster care on December 31, 1974,
and information about the status of children for successive periods
through December 31, 1976 in order to create a continuous time-series
file. |
What are the variables that have
a significant association with whether a foster child is discharged?
|
Multiple regression analysis |
The probability of being adopted
during the study period was higher for a White child than for a Black,
Hispanic, or other child of the same age, with the same number of
years in care, and who was free for adoption.
Hispanic children who had adoption as a discharge goal had a greater
probability of being returned to their parents or relatives than non-Hispanic
children.
The variables associated with adoption were different from the variables
associated with discharge to parents and relatives. |
| Fluke et al., 1999 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Fluke, J. D., Yuan, Y. Y. T., and
Edwards, M. (1999). Recurrence of maltreatment: An application of
the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS). Child
Abuse & Neglect 23(7), 633-650. |
Database: The National Child Abuse
and Neglect Data System Detailed Case Data Component (NCANDS DCDC),
which was derived from state-level child protection and child welfare
information systems.
Sample: Maltreatment
recurrence cases for the years 1994 and 1995 from 10 states: 99,288
cases from Illinois, 22,572 from Louisiana, 55,546 from Massachusetts,
33,587 from Missouri, 51,590 from North Carolina, 99,475 from New
Jersey, 12,632 from Pennsylvania, 98,301 from Texas, 2,419 from Vermont,
and 80,814 from Washington. |
What are the aspects of maltreatment
recurrence in
- patterns across states?
- patterns in the literature?
- unreported patterns of
recurrence? |
Event history analysis |
For all states except Vermont and
North Carolina, Asian/Pacific Islanders had the lowest rates of recurrence.
For some states, including Louisiana, North Carolina, and Vermont,
survival distributions were statistically different for African Americans
and Whites. However, the pattern of differences across states between
African Americans and Whites was not consistent. In some states, time
to recurrence for African Americans was shorter than for Whites, while
in other states the reverse was true. In Illinois, Massachusetts,
Missouri, New Jersey, Texas and Washington, survival distributions
for White and African-American children were not significantly different.
|
| Garland et al.,
1998 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Garland, Ann F.; Ellis-MacLeod, Elissa;
Landsverk, John A.; Ganger, William; and Johnson, Ivory (1998). American
Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 68(1), 142-146. |
Database: A longitudinal study of
children placed in out-of-home care between May of 1990 and October
of 1991.
Sample: 1,332 subjects representing
834 families. |
What is the outcome of a test of
the "visibility hypothesis" (which suggests that there is a higher
probability for minority children to be placed in foster care when
living in geographic locations where their proportions in the population
are relatively low, compared to areas where their proportions are
high) in a large, ethnically diverse county in California? |
Linear analysis of placement ratios |
The patterns of minority representation
in the foster-care cohort support the visibility hypothesis (e.g.,
the more "visible" a child is in the community, the more likely that
the child would be placed in foster care). The "visibility" pattern
found was specific to African-American children, who represented the
greatest proportion of minority children in the sample. The pattern
was not present for either Hispanic or Asian-American children. |
| Garland and Besinger,
1997 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Garland, Ann F. and Besinger, Bridgett
A. (1997). Racial/Ethnic differences in court referred pathways to
mental health services for children in foster care. Children and
Youth Services Review, 19, 651-666. |
Database: The Foster Care Mental Health
(FCMH) research project, which included data on 1037 children ages
0-17 years who were placed in foster care from May 1990 to October
1991 and who remained in out-of-home care at least 5 months.
Sample: 184 cases, chosen to achieve roughly equal
representation of all three major racial/ethnic groups (African-American,
Caucasian and Latino). |
What is the role of the court process
in referring children in foster care to mental health services?
What are the racial/ethnic differences in the patterns of referral
and service use? |
Multivariate logistic regression analysis |
The court process was found to play
a significant role in referring children to services. Significant
differences by race and ethnicity were found in mental health service
utilization prior to the child's protective placement, as well as
service orders and post-placement service use.
Caucasian youth were more likely to receive orders for psychotherapy
and to have documented use of psychotherapy than were African-American
and Hispanic youth, even when the possible confounding effects of
age and type of maltreatment were controlled.
Caucasian youth were more likely to enter the system with a history
of counseling and to receive counseling during the first eight months
of out-of-home care. Although no statistically significant racial/ethnic
differences on frequencies of other types of service use were found,
there were higher rates of use by Caucasians on almost every type
of service use prior to and post-removal from the home. |
| Goerge et al.,
1994 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Goerge, R. M., Wulczyn, F. H. and
Harden, A. W. (1994) Foster Care Dynamics in California, Illinois,
Michigan, New York, and Texas, 1983-1992: A Report from the Multi-State
Foster Care Data Archive. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children. |
Database: A multistate foster care
data archive containing foster care histories for all children placed
in a state-supervised substitute living arrangement from 1983-1992
in Illinois, Michigan and New York, from 1988-1992 in California,
and from 1985-1992 in Texas. The database was constructed from information
drawn directly from the administrative databases that the separate
state agencies use to manage and operate their own child welfare caseloads.
Sample: 440,374 cases |
How many children are in foster care?
Is the size of this population changing?
What forces are involved in these changes? Are they persistent? Do
they occur evenly over time? Have the shifting patterns of admissions
and discharges had different effects on the foster care population?
Has the composition of foster care caseloads, as defined by characteristics
of the population of children in care, changed in recent years?
What is the risk of any child in the general population being placed
in foster care? For what groups of children are these risks increased?
Once a child is removed from home, how long should we expect him or
her to remain in foster care? What factors are related to the duration
of stay in care? |
Event history analysis using a proportional hazards
model |
Across all five states, White children
accounted for about 33 percent of first admissions to foster care,
African Americans accounted for 40 percent, and Hispanics for under
20 percent. In Illinois, the percentage of children placed who were
White decreased by one-third between 1988 and 1992. During this period,
the percentage of African-American children placed increased by one-quarter.
In California, the proportion of Hispanic children increased from
23 percent in 1988 to 29 percent in 1992 while the proportion of both
African-American and White children declined. In New York, the percentage
of White children placed increased.
African-American children stayed in care longer than other racial
or ethnic groups. In California and New York this disparity was large
and in Illinois it was even larger. |
| Goerge and Harden,
1993 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Goerge, R. M. and Harden, A. W. (1993).
The Impact of Substance-Affected Infants on Child Protection and
Substitute Care Caseloads: 1985-1992. Chicago: Chapin Hall Center
for Children. |
Database: The Child Abuse and Neglect
Tracking System and The Child and Youth Centered Information System
of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in Illinois.
Sample: 12,087 separate substance misuse
allegations for children under the age of one from 1985 to 1992. |
How did Substance-Affected Infants
(SAI) experience the substitute care system between 1985 and 1992?
How has this population affected, and how will it continue to affect,
the aggregate caseload of DCFS? |
Aggregate analysis
Survival analysis methods from the Kaplan-Meier technique |
The proportions of Substance-Affected
Infants (SAI) placed in substitute care were found to be:
White: 11.5%
Black: 83.9%
Hispanic: 4.0%
Other: 0.6%
First placement spell duration was found to be significantly longer
for SAI than for non-SAI children. There was no variation by race
for most children, although Black children in relatives' homes in
Cook County and non-Black children in relatives' homes outside of
Cook County exhibited some variation.
|
| Goerge, 1990 |
|
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Goerge, R. M. (1990). The reunification
process in substitute care. Social Service Review, 64(3),
422-457. |
Database: Data recorded by the Illinois
Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) on all children
who entered foster care between July 1, 1976 and May 31, 1984.
Sample: 1,196 children. |
Does the probability of reunification
decrease as a child spends more time in substitute care?
Do certain types of children, classified by reason for placement,
type of placement, age at placement, race or ethnicity, and region
of residence, exhibit a stronger decreasing probability of reunification
than others?
What types of children are more likely to remain in foster care throughout
their childhoods? |
Event history analysis |
The race of the child and region
of placement were found to combine to explain large differences in
reunification. The results of placement-level analysis show that foster
children in Cook County stayed in their placements longer than children
outside of Cook County. Race had no effect on the duration of these
placements.
Black children outside of Cook County were found to have a different
experience than any Cook County children or non-Black children outside
of Cook County. They had the highest probability of staying in care;
nearly 4 percent in the first placement, 8 percent in the second placement,
and 5 percent in the third placement. |
| Groeneveld
and Giovanni, 1977 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Groeneveld, L. P. and Giovannoni,
J. M. (1977). Disposition of child abuse and neglect cases. Social
Work Research & Abstracts 13(2) 24-30. |
Database: The National Clearinghouse
on Child Abuse and Neglect
Sample: The first
2,400 cases in the database, reported between January and August 1974.
Cases were reported by Arizona, Montana, North Carolina, Rhode Island,
and Texas. |
What are the factors that affect
the progress of child abuse cases at the various stages of case management? |
Multivariate regression analysis |
Ethnicity was found to be one of
three variables that had a significant effect on child abuse cases
at any point in the system. It was found to have an effect on removal
in neglect cases; non-Caucasian children were more likely to be removed
from their families than Caucasian children. |
| Gurak et al., 1982 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Gurak, Douglas T., Smith, David Arrender,
and Goldson, Mary F. (1982). The Minority Foster Child: A Comparative
Study of Hispanic, Black and White Children. New York: Fordham
University Hispanic Research Center, Monograph 9. |
Database: The "Under-Care" Module
of the Child Welfare Information System (CWIS) of New York City. For
the comparative analysis, data were used from the records of children
in care in 1979 in seven New Jersey District Offices (counties) in
New Jersey's Division of Youth and Family Services.
Sample:
953 New York children in foster care in 1979. For the comparative
analysis: 149 children with cases active between October 1, 1977 and
October 1, 1978 and 500 children whose cases were active beginning
June 1979 and ending June 1978. |
Do ethnic differentials in outcomes
exist?
Can any such differences be attributed to ethnic differentials in
entry-level characteristics?
Can any such differences which may remain subsequent to controlling
for entry-level characteristics be accounted for by process-level
characteristics of the foster care system? |
Multivariate regression analysis |
Ethnic differentials in outcomes
do exist and these outcomes cannot be explained by group differences
in entry-level characteristics. Several process-level factors clearly
contribute to these ethnic differentials.
Blacks and Hispanics remain in care longer than Whites.
Blacks and Hispanics experience lower progress towards exit rates
than Whites.
Blacks and Hispanics are placed in less efficient agencies than Whites. |
| Hampton and Newberger,
1984 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Hampton, R. L. and Newberger, E.
H. (1984). Child abuse incidence and reporting by hospitals: Significance
of severity, class, and race. American Journal of Public Health
75(1), 56-60. |
Database & Sample: The 1981 National
Study of the Incidence and Severity of Child Abuse and Neglect. |
What are the variables associated
with the initial diagnosis of child abuse by hospitals and with the
proportion of cases subsequently reported to child protective service
agencies? |
Multivariate analysis |
Race was found to be one of the factors
that distinguished the reported from the unreported cases of abuse.
Hospitals failed to report to child protection agencies almost half
of the cases that met the study's definition of abuse, and compared
to other agencies in the sample, hospitals identified children who
were younger, Black, lived in urban areas, and had more serious injuries.
Black and Latino families were more likely to be reported than White
families.
|
| Jones and McCurdy,
1992 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Jones, Elizabeth D. and McCurdy,
Karen (1992). Child Abuse & Neglect, 16, 201-251. |
Database: The 1988 National Incidence
Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-2) on maltreated children.
Sample: 2,814 cases. |
What is the relative impact of demographic
characteristics of the child, family structure, and economic variables
on types of child abuse and neglect? |
Descriptive analysis
Logit analysis |
Physical neglect, in comparison with
other types of abuse, is the most predictable and distinguishable
type. It is most clearly related to economic factors such as low income
and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) status, regardless
of race.
Only one comparison of maltreatment, sexual abuse versus neglect,
reveals significant differences between Blacks and Whites with Blacks
evidencing a higher risk than Whites of being neglected as opposed
to sexually abused. However, minority status has little influence
on the likelihood of neglect occurring. Rather, neglect appears to
be a problem of economics. |
| Katz et al., 1986 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Katz, Mitchell H., Hampton, Robert
L., Newberger, Eli H., Bowles, Roy T., and Snyder, Jane C. (1986).
Returning children home: Clinical decision making in cases of child
abuse and neglect. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 56(2),
253-262. |
Database: Records of suspected abused
or neglected children seen at Children's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
Sample: Hospital records of 185 children from
1978 to 1981. |
What are the factors that influence
the decision to remove children from their parents' care in cases
of abuse and neglect? |
Bivariate analysis
Multivariate log-linear analysis |
Families who were Medicaid-eligible
and those with a previous report of suspected child maltreatment were
more likely to have their children removed. Minority families were
not, however, more likely to lose their children. |
| Korbin et al.,
1998 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title, Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Korbin, J. E., Coulton, C. J., Chard,
S., Platt-Houston, C., Su, M. (1998) Impoverishment and child maltreatment
in African-American and European-American neighborhoods. Development
and Psychopathology 10, 215-233 |
Database & Sample:
Phase I) Quantitative Study: All 1991 "substantiated" and "indicated"
reports of child maltreatment from the Cuyahoga County Department
of Human Services computerized records. Census tracts were identified
using 1990 census data: 94 predominantly African-American and 189
predominantly European-American census tracts.
Phase II) Qualitative Study: 13 census tracts were selected for ethnographic
study to represent neighborhoods with different rates of child maltreatment
reports. For the ethnographic analysis, four census tracts were drawn
that represented neighborhoods with different rates (highest and lowest
quartiles) of child maltreatment reports.
|
What is the relationship between
neighborhood structural factors and child maltreatment report rates
in African-American and European-American census tracts? |
Aggregate level and regression analysis
Analysis of ethnographic observations and resident narratives |
High rates of reported maltreatment
in low income and minority populations were found in this study.
Impoverishment had a significantly weaker effect on maltreatment rates
in African American than in European American neighborhoods.
While African American groups lived disproportionately in poor, divested
areas, when other factors that favored community social organization
were in place, their neighborhoods were found to be supportive of
children and families.
Neighborhood conditions were found to be linked with child maltreatment
report rates. |
| Lauderdale
et al., 1980 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Lauderdale, M., Valiunas, A., and
Anderson, R. (1980). Race, ethnicity, and child maltreatment: An empirical
analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect 4, 163-169. |
Database: The Texas Department of
Human Resources Central Registry incidence data.
Sample:
All 36,945 validated cases of abuse and neglect reported between 1975-1977. |
What is the empirical relationship
of child maltreatment to ethnicity? |
Computation of rates of abuse and neglect for each
major ethnic group in the Texas population (Anglos, Blacks, Mexican-Americans) |
Child maltreatment was found to vary
by ethnicity. Anglos had the lowest rate of abuse and neglect, Mexican
Americans had a rate 10.5 percent higher, Blacks had a rate 37.3 percent
higher than the Anglo rate.
Abuse accounted for 33.5 percent of the validated cases of maltreatment
among Anglos, 29.4 percent among Blacks and 25.2 percent among Mexican
Americans.
Neglect accounted for 55.4 percent of maltreatment among Anglos, 61.2
percent among Blacks, and 65.6 percent among Mexican Americans. |
| McCabe et al.,
1999 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| McCabe, Kristen; Yeh, May; Hough,
Richard L.; Landsverk, John; Hurlburt, Michael S.; Culver, Shirley
Wells; and Reynolds, Beth (1999). Racial/Ethnic representation across
five public sectors of care for youth. Journal of Emotional and
Behavioral Disorders, 7, 72-82. |
Database: The Patterns of Youth Mental
Health Care in Public Service Systems Project (POC) enumeration of
youth (birth to 18 years) who were active in one or more of five public
sectors of care (including child welfare) in San Diego County during
a 6-month period in the 1996-1997 fiscal year.
Sample:
11,515 youth |
What would the results of an investigation
of ethnic minority service use be through examination of representation
rates across four racial/ethnic groups and five service sectors simultaneously
in a large population of service users? |
Multivariate analysis
Introduction of unique methodology for determining the representative
over- and underrepresentation of racial/ethnic groups in each sector
by providing comparisons to three different sets of Census data (1996
Full Census data; 1996 Census estimates of youth at or below 200%
of poverty level; 1997 San Diego County School Enrollment Census data). |
The patterns of representation varied
greatly, depending upon racial/ethnic group and comparison group.
African Americans were overrepresented in child welfare regardless
of the comparison group. Rates of overrepresentation were reduced
when socioeconomic status was taken into account by using a 200% Poverty
Census comparison group.
In each comparison group, Asian/Pacific Islander Americans were underrepresented
in the child welfare sector.
Patterns among Caucasian Americans differed by comparison group. In
comparison with the full Census and School Enrollment data, Caucasians
were underrepresented in child welfare. In comparison with the 200%
Poverty Census group, however, Caucasians were overrepresented.
The comparisons for Latinos in all three groups reflected underrepresentation
in child welfare. |
| McMurtry and
Lie, 1992 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| McMurtry, Steven L. and Lie, Gwat-Yong
(1992). Differential exit rates of minority children in foster care.
Social Work Research and Abstracts, 28, 42-48. |
Database: Written case records drawn
from the central office of the Arizona Foster Care Review Board.
Sample: A study of 775 foster care children
in Maricopa County, Arizona, who were originally placed in out-of-home
care between January 1, 1979 and December 31, 1984 and whose cases
were open for at least six months.
|
How do children's racial/ethnic characteristics
affect their placement outcomes, their exit outcomes and the length
of time it takes them to exit foster care? |
Event history analysis using a proportional hazards
model
|
Black children were found to be represented
more than three times as often among foster children as among residents
of the county.
Significant differences between ethnic/racial groups were found for
the age of the child when initially placed in care. Most notably,
White children were an average of more than one and a half years older
than non-White children when first placed. The groups also differed
significantly on the presence of disabilities, with Black children
being least likely and Hispanic children being most likely to have
a physical or developmental disability. Finally, a significant effect
for groups was found for total duration of care. Overall, Black children
spent an average of more than three years in care, White and Hispanic
children averaged two and a half years, and other minority children
averaged two years.
Results show that children did not differ across ethnic groups on
rates of exit into adoption or outcomes such as emancipation or placement
with relatives. The major difference was among children who returned
home, which occurred at only half the rate for Black children as for
White children. |
| National Black
Child Development Institute, 1989 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| National Black Child Development
Institute. (1989). Who Will Care When Parents Can't? A Study of
Black Children in Foster Care. NCBDI: Washington, DC. |
Database: Case records from child
public welfare agencies in Detroit, Houston, Miami, New York, and
Seattle.
Sample: 222 Detroit children, 311
Houston children, 98 Miami children, 246 New York children and 126
Seattle children placed in a state supervised living arrangement for
at least a 24-hour period during the calendar year of 1986. |
What is the profile of black children,
their families, and the social context of their lives before and during
foster care? |
Descriptive analysis |
Escalating numbers of Black children
were found to be entering foster care at ever younger ages and remaining
in care for longer periods of time because of dramatic discrepancies
between needs identified and services provided.
Black children entering foster care were at a disproportionately high
risk of serious health, education, and mental health problems.
46 percent of the foster children examined were discharged during
the course of the study period, which was more than two years in length. |
| Needell and Barth,
1998 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Needell, B. and Barth, R. P. (1998).
Infants entering foster care compared to other infants using birth
status indicators. Child Abuse & Neglect 22(12), 1179-1187. |
Database: Foster care data were taken
from the California Children's Services Archive at the University
of California at Berkeley. Birth data were taken from the California
Birth Statistical Mater File, also housed at the Archive.
Sample: 26,460 maltreated infants who entered foster
care between 1989 and 1994, and a random sample of 401 infants born
in this time period who didn't enter foster care. |
How do infants in foster care compare
with a random sample of infants not in foster care? What are their
similarities and differences? |
Probability matching
Logit regression |
40.5 percent of mothers in the foster
care sample were African American as compared to 7.6 percent of the
non-foster care sample.
Mothers of infants in care were more than twice as likely to be African
American than mothers of other infants. Hispanic and other ethnic
groups were underrepresented in the group of infants in care. Foreign-born
mothers, especially Hispanic women, were much less likely to have
infants in care.
|
| Nelson et al.,
1993 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Nelson, K. E., Saunders, E. J. and
Landsman, M. J. (1993). Chronic child neglect in perspective. Social
Work 38(6), 661-671. |
Database: Case file data on families
referred to the Allegheney County (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) Children
and Youth Services for child neglect .
Sample:
182 families referred between October 1986 and August 1989. |
What are the dynamics of child neglect
in three groups of families referred to a metropolitan county child
protection agency because of child neglect? |
Discriminate analysis |
Black children were found to be overrepresented
in cases of neglect in the child welfare system in Pittsburgh. Although
Black families constituted only 31.1 percent of the families with
children under age 18 at the time of the study, 45.3 percent of the
primary caregivers in the study were minorities, and all but two were
Black. |
| Neuspiel et al.,
1993 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Neuspiel, Daniel R., Zingman, Terry
M., Templeton, Virginia H., DiStabile, P., and Drucker, E. (1993).
Custody of cocaine-exposed newborns: Determinants of discharge decisions.
American Journal of Public Health 83(12), 1726-1729. |
Database: Maternal and infant medical
records at a public hospital in New York City.
Sample:
All 99 newborn infants testing positive for cocaine or benzoylecgonine
from July 1990 through May 1991 (49% Black, 40% Hispanic, 11% other).
|
What are the factors that predict
custody status of infants born to substance-abusing women? |
Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance
Multiple logistic regression analysis
Chi-square tests
T tests |
Placement outside the family was
greater with Blacks than with other ethnicities and races. Denial
of custody to Black mothers was higher. Being Black was found to be
predictive of discharge away from the mother and less predictive of
non-family discharge custody.
Black mothers were found less likely to keep their newborns.
No interactions were found between ethnicity and prior child welfare
reporting. |
| Olsen, 1982 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Olsen, Lenore (1982). Services for
minority children in out-of-home care. Social Service Review,
56, 572-585. |
Database: The National Study of Public
Social Services to Children and Their Families, which identified 1.7
million children on the case loads of public social service agencies
across the nation in 1977, one-third of whom were living apart from
their natural families at the time.
Sample:
17,000 cases. |
How are minority group children served
by the child welfare system?
What are the characteristics of children and families receiving services,
particularly among children of different minority groups?
How does age interact with minority group membership to affect the
experiences of minority children in the child welfare system? |
Bivariate analysis
Analysis of covariance |
In comparison to other ethnic groups,
it was found that there were fewer service plans for Black children
and fewer plans for regular contact between the Black child and their
principal child-caring person (PCCP). Black children also spent a
considerably longer time in care than other children.
Hispanic children were found to be less likely to have plans for regular
contact with their PCCP and there was a tendency for agencies to be
unable to specify why these children were not free for adoption. Hispanic
youth were treated as more behaviorally disturbed than other groups
of children.
Only one-third of the Native American children ages 6-11 had service
goals, and virtually none of their families had service recommendations.
Asian children were more likely to have service plans, with particular
attention given to improving family relationships. Asian youth spent
less time in care than other children. |
| Plantz et al.,
1989 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Plantz, M. C., Hubbell, R., Barrett,
B. J., Dobrec, A. (1989) Indian child welfare: A status report.
Children Today 18(1), 24-29. |
Database: Nationwide survey data of
state, tribal, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and off-reservation Indian
operative programs providing substitute care for Indian children and
families. Data was also gathered through a field study of such programs
in Arizona, Minnesota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
Sample:
9,300 children who entered care in 1986. |
What is the prevalence and flow of
Indian children in substitute care? What are the characteristics of
these children and their placements?
To what extent are minimum federal standards for removal and placement
of Indian children, as specified in the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA),
being followed?
What services are provided to Indian families with children in substitute
care?
How long are Indian children in substitute care? What are the outcomes
of their cases?
What types of programs are run by tribes that receive federal and
other assistance? What resources are available to them? What are their
needs? |
Descriptive analysis
Statistical analysis |
Indian children were found to be
placed in care at a rate 3.6 times that of non-Indian children.
The number of Indian children in care rose by roughly 25 percent in
the 1980s, in contrast to a decline among children of all races.
Public programs were found to provide the standard range of child
welfare services that were available to all families. 80 percent of
children whose case records were reviewed for the field study were
in foster homes.
The median length in care was 12 to 23 months for public, tribal,
and off-reservation programs and 36 to 59 months for Bureau of Indian
Affair programs. Off reservation tribal program children were more
likely than others to be discharged to their families or relatives.
Indian children were slightly more likely to have a goal of return
home or placement with a relative and were less likely to have a goal
of adoption than were other children.
Although the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) specifies that a state
cannot remove a child from a home without demonstrating evidence of
efforts to provide services to prevent removal, such efforts were
evident in only 41 percent
of the cases. Other ICWA requirements were not met as well.
ICWA was not found to have reduced the flow of children
into substitute care. |
| Runyan et al.,
1982 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Runyan, D. K., Gould, C. L., Trost,
D. C., and Loda, F. A. (1982). Determinants of foster care placement
for the maltreated child. Child Abuse and Neglect 6, 343-350. |
Database: North Carolina Central Registry
of Child Abuse and Neglect
Sample: 8,610
confirmed reports of maltreatment from the Central Registry between
July 1978 and June 1979. 67 percent of families in the sample were
White, and 29 percent were Black. |
Which social, family, and child characteristics
were most influential in the decision to place a child in foster care? |
Stepwise regression analysis
Logistic regression analysis |
It was found that family race, parent
income, and parental education were not significant in the analysis.
|
| Saunders et al.,
1993 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Saunders, E. J., Nelson, K., and
Landsman, M. J. (1993). Racial inequality and child neglect: Findings
in a metropolitan area. Child Welfare 72, 341-354. |
Database: Data files at Allegheny
County (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) Children and Youth Services. Census
data for the county were also used.
Sample:
182 families referred for child neglect from October of 1986 to August
of 1989. |
Does child neglect occur more frequently
in the African-American population than in the Caucasian population? |
Multiple regression analysis
Comparative analysis |
African-American participants in
the study were not significantly more likely than Caucasians to be
confirmed by Children and Youth Services (CYS) as either newly or
chronically neglectful parents, but were more likely to be referred
to the agency for inadequate supervision. For Caucasians, neglect
was more often confirmed for chronicity or if it involved poor hygiene
or occurred in larger families.
African-American respondents were found to be more likely to have
had disadvantaged childhoods and to be significantly disadvantaged
as compared to Caucasian respondents in such areas as income, housing
quality, and quality of neighborhood of residence. African Americans
in the sample did not score higher than Caucasians on a measure of
psychological distress used with the instrument. After controlling
for per capita income and marital status, African Americans demonstrated
less anxiety than Caucasians, but had significantly more physical
health problems.
|
| Schmidt-Tieszen
and McDonald, 1998 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Schmidt-Tieszen, A. and McDonald,
T. P. (1998). Children who wait: Long term foster care or adoption?
Children and Youth Services Review 20(1/2), 13-28. |
Database: Case records of youths in
state custody in a Midwestern state who had been freed for adoption
through the termination of parental rights and who were served by
three public welfare social service units in a single urban county.
Sample: Records of 147 children from of May
1995. Approximately 73 percent of the sample was African-American
and 26 percent was White.
|
How can predictors of long term foster
care be identified so that children at high risk for long term foster
care can be identified and the appropriate steps be taken? |
Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis |
A combination of four factors-age
of child, race, developmental disability of child, and absence of
genetic or family history risk factors, was found to be predictive
of a plan of long term foster care.
Race was an important factor only when controlling for the age of
the child. Among children younger than 12 years old, virtually all
European American children had adoption for their goal while one-quarter
of non-European American children had long term foster care as the
goal. Non-European American children were less likely to be assigned
a plan of adoption (this finding did not hold for older children). |
| Spearly and Lauderdale,
1983 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Spearly, J. L. and Lauderdale, M.
(1983). Community characteristics and ethnicity in the prediction
of child maltreatment rates. Child Abuse and Neglect 7, 91-105. |
Database: The Texas Department of
Human Resources Central Registry for reports of child abuse and neglect.
Sample: 254 counties in Texas for cases between
January 1, 1977 and December 31, 1977. Ethnic groups of interest were
244 predominantly White counties, 131 predominantly Black counties
and 172 predominantly Mexican American counties. |
What are the community characteristics
that can predict rates of maltreatment for different ethnic groups
and how well do they do so? |
Hierarchical multiple regression analysis |
Blacks had the highest average county
rate of maltreatment (23.3 reports per 1000 families). Mexican Americans
had 18.2 reports per 1000 and Anglos 12.3 reports per 1000. Family
economic status, working mothers, and single mother variables were
strong predictors of maltreatment rates and the higher representation
of non-White families among abuse and neglect reports can be explained
in part by the higher incidences of poverty, fatherless homes, and
working mothers among those populations. Findings were consistent
with the idea that child maltreatment is not a function of poverty,
per se, but hinges on the quality and use of available supports.
For Blacks, the proportion of working mothers in a county approached
significance as a predictor of higher maltreatment rates. For Mexican
Americans, mobility was correlated with higher levels of maltreatment.
This suggests a higher reliance on informal networks of support-such
as extended families-- in childrearing among Blacks and Mexican Americans,
while Anglos rely more heavily on income and formal services.
Urbanization was a significant predictor of Black and
Mexican American maltreatment rates, but was not
significant for Anglos. A higher percentage of
Mexican Americans within a population was associated
with lower maltreatment rates and this might be culture
and language related.
|
| Stenho, 1982 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Stenho, S. (1982). Differential treatment
of minority children in service systems. Social Work 27,
39-45. |
Database: Findings from The National
Study of Social Services for Children, a Children's Defense Fund study,
as well as reports from the Census Bureau, The National Institute
of Mental Health, The National Center for Juvenile Justice, and The
Law Enforcement Assistance Administration.
Sample:
Sample size differed with each database and was not specified. All
data were pre-1980. |
What is the status of minority youth
in the juvenile justice, mental health, and child welfare systems?
What can those who are concerned with the quality of community-based
services for minority youth do to improve them?
What are the implications of changing methods of service delivery
for minority youth? |
Comparison of official data |
Dramatic differences were found in
patterns of out-of-home placements of minority youths and White youths
in the child welfare, juvenile justice, and mental health systems.
Among the findings were:
- A higher rate of placement in institutions, foster care and mental
health facilities for Black youths
- Higher proportions of Black youth referred to juvenile courts for
crimes against persons
- An increased likelihood that Black youth would enter mental health
systems with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and/or character disorder
- A disproportionate number of Black children in less desirable institutional
placements such as training schools, facilities for the mentally handicapped
or prisons
- Greater proportions of Black children served in the public sector
than the private sector facilities
- Less social services support received by minority parents than non-minority
parents (in particular, a lack of in-home services) |
| Terling, 1999 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Terling, T. (1999). The efficacy
of family reunification practices: Reentry rates and correlates of
reentry for abused and neglected children reunited with their families.
Child Abuse & Neglect 23(12), 1359-1370. |
Database:
Family reunification cases served by Child Protective Services (CPS)
in Houston, Texas between January of 1992 and July of 1996.
Sample in Phase One:
1,515 children reunited with their original families following placement
into foster care due to abuse and/or neglect.
Sample
in Phase Two:
59 hard copy case files - 40 chosen randomly from 1,515 in the Phase
One sample, and 19 served by Child Protective Services and community
based interventionists. |
What is the efficacy of relying on
family reunification for abused/neglected children rather than long
term foster care or adoption?
What are the reentry rates and factors associated with reentry after
the children are returned to their families? |
Bivariate analysis
Proportional-hazards model |
Hispanics were found to be less likely
to reenter the system early in the observation period relative to
other racial ethnic/groups. Significant differences were found between
Whites and Blacks in regards to risk.
A directional relationship emerged for race and reentry; Hispanics
had lower rates of reentry than Blacks and Whites.
Factors found to be associated with increased risk and reentry were
race, abuse type, CPS history, parental competency, criminal history,
substance abuse and social support. |
| Trocme
et al., 1994 (While this study is Canadian, we thought that
it was quite interesting and relevant.) |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Trocme, N., McPhee, D., Tam, K.K.
and Hay, T. (1994). Ontario incidence study of reported child
abuse and neglect. Toronto: Institute for the Prevention of Child
Abuse. |
Database: Information was collected
directly from Ontario's CAS (Children's Aid Societies)
Sample:
2,950 family intake cases opened in Ontario in 1993; 2,447 of these
were investigated for alleged child maltreatment. |
What is the estimated annual incidence
of reported and substantiated child maltreatment in Ontario?
What is the type and severity of reported maltreatment?
What are the child, family and agency characteristics that are associated
with the type and severity of maltreatment and with case disposition?
What is the basis for examining incidence rates over time as well
as for comparing Ontario rates with rates in other jurisdictions? |
Bivariate analysis using chi-square statistics and
odds ratios to analyze categorical variables
T-tests and analyses of variance to analyze continuous variables |
Substantiation rates for some of
the non-White groups - Native Canadian, East Asian, Southeast Asian,
and West Asian/North African groups - were higher than those for Whites.
More than half (54 percent) of investigations involving Black families
were for physical abuse. Similar figures for Whites and Native Canadians
were 40 percent and 25 percent respectively. Children from the most
visible minority groups had a greater likelihood of being investigated
because of suspected physical abuse, usually accompanied by problems
related to discipline and punishment.
Whites were found to be more likely to be investigated because of
suspected sexual abuse.
|
| Wildfire, 2000 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Wildfire, Judith (2000). Experiences
of Children of Color with Child Welfare in North Carolina. North
Carolina: Jordan Institute for Families. |
Database: Two administrative databases
maintained by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
- the Child Abuse and Neglect Central Registry and the Services Information
System.
Sample: The data was configured
from annual cohorts of children to track children whose initial involvement
with the child welfare system was between July 1, 1994 and June 30,
1997. |
What is the success of the original
eight Families for Kids (FFK) counties in changing the placement experiences
of minority children? |
Survey data analysis (SUDAAN)
Cox proportional hazards model
Descriptive analysis
Multivariate modeling |
In Families for Kids (FFK) counties,
there was a consistent decline in the proportion of children initially
entering custody who were African-American. Additionally, the median
length of stay for African-American children, although still higher
than those of Caucasian children, decreased proportionately more than
the median length of stay for Caucasian children. Overall, FFK succeeded
in improving the outcomes for children in their counties and decreasing
the disparity between African-American and Caucasian children in placement.
It should be noted, however, that there were differential outcomes
depending on whether children experienced placement with a relative
while in placement authority and that the effect of race on these
outcomes did not seem to vary. |
| Wulczyn, 2000 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Wulczyn, Fred (2000). Adoption
Dynamics: A Report from the Multistate Foster Care Data Archive.
A paper presented at the Meeting on the Adoption and Safe Families
Act of 1997. The David and Lucille Packard Foundation, June 7-9, 2000.
Chicago: Chapin Hall Center for Children. |
Database: The Multistate Foster Care
Data Archive
Sample: 300,029 first entries
into foster care between 1988 and 1992 in California, Illinois, Missouri,
and New York. For some analyses, additional states were included. |
What is the likelihood that a child
admitted to foster care will become "ASFA (Adoption and Safe Families
Act) eligible" by spending 15 out of 22 months in out-of-home placement?
What is the likelihood of adoption, based on the child's age at first
placement?
What is the effect of AFSA on time to adoption?
Does the passage of ASFA influence the likelihood of reunification? |
Cohort comparison
Multivariate analysis |
Hispanics were found to be least
likely to become Adoption and Safe Family Act (ASFA) eligible cases;
African-American and White children were about as likely to fit ASFA
eligibility criteria.
The movement of African-American children through the system was much
slower than that of White or Hispanic children.
Both African-American and Hispanic children were adopted more slowly
than Whites. Hispanics were reunited with their families more swiftly
than Whites; African-American children more slowly. However, time
to adoption has shortened for African-American children at a faster
rate than that for Whites.
African-American children placed with relatives went home more slowly
than children placed in regular homes. African-American children placed
in kinship homes at initial placement were adopted more quickly than
other children in kinship homes. |
| Wulcyzn et al.,
1999 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Wulczyn, Fred H.; Brunner, Kristen;
and Goerge, Robert M. (1999). Foster Care Dynamics, 1983-1997
in Alabama, California, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri,
New Mexico, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin: A Report from the Multistate
Foster Care Data Archive. Chicago: The Chapin Hall Center for
Children at the University of Chicago. |
Database: A multistate foster care
data archive containing foster care histories for all children placed
in a state-supervised substitute living arrangement from 1983-1997
in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and New York, from 1987-1997 in Maryland,
from 1988-1997 in California and New Mexico, from 1989-1997 in Alabama,
from 1990-1997 in Ohio and Wisconsin, and from 1995-1997 in Iowa.
The database was constructed from information drawn directly from
the administrative databases that the separate state agencies use
to manage and operate their own child welfare caseloads.
Sample: A total of 823,545 foster care histories. |
What are the dominant trends and
consistent patterns in the Multistate Foster Care Archive data when
it is reassessed to include data collected after the last 1997 report? |
Event history analysis
Univariate median analysis
Proportional hazards analysis |
Children of color were found to be
generally over-represented in the foster care population.
In terms of length of stay in care, it was found that African-American
children tend to stay in care longer than White or Hispanic children
in all eleven states. In addition, length of stay for Hispanic children
is close to length of stay for White children in all eleven states.
In terms of discharge destination, White and Hispanic children who
leave care are more likely to be reunified with their families of
origin than are African American children. In addition, African-American
children who exit are somewhat more likely to enter a care arrangement
with another relative or be adopted than are White and Hispanic children.
|
| Wulczyn et al.,
1997 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Wulczyn, F. H., Harden, A. W. and
Goerge, R. M. (1997). An Update from the Multistate Foster Care Data
Archive: Foster Care Dynamics, 1983-1994 - California, Illinois,
Michigan, Missouri, New York and Texas. Chicago: The Chapin Hall
Center for Children at the University of Chicago. |
Database: A multistate foster care
data archive containing foster care histories for all children placed
in a state-supervised substitute living arrangement from 1983-1994
in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and New York, from 1985-1994 in Texas
and from 1988-1994 in California. The database was constructed from
information drawn directly from the administrative databases that
the separate state agencies use to manage and operate their own child
welfare caseloads.
Sample: A total of 593,509
foster care histories. |
What are the dominant trends and
consistent patterns in the Multistate Foster Care Archive data when
it is reassessed to include data collected after the original 1994
report? |
Event history analysis
Univariate median analysis |
Involvement in foster care does vary
along ethnic and racial lines, and these patterns do differ among
the states. Most noticeably, the African-American share of new entrants
was found to be decreasing in California as the Hispanic share increases.
In addition, the share of White entrants is decreasing in Illinois,
Michigan, and Missouri as the African-American share increases.
In terms of duration of spells in care, it was found that African-American
children tend to stay in care longer than White or Hispanics in all
six states. Durations for Hispanics are very close to those for Whites.
Illinois shows the strongest White-Hispanic difference in duration,
with spells for Hispanic children in care being about 15 percent shorter
than those for whites.
In exits from foster care spells, White and Hispanic children who
leave care are more likely to be reunified with their families of
origin than African-American children. Similarly, African-American
and Hispanic children who exit are somewhat more likely to enter a
care arrangement with another relative than are White children. There
are no apparent racial/ethnic differences for the other exit types
(adoption, aging out and running away).
In terms of reentry rates, African-American children were found to
reenter slightly more often than White and Hispanic children.
|
| Wulczyn 1991 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Wulczyn, Fred (1991). Caseload Dynamics
and Foster Care Reentry. Social Service Review, 65, 133-156. |
Database: Child Care Review Service
(CCRS) - the New York Department of Social Services tracking system.
Sample: More than 83,000 foster children
on and off the caseload in New York state over a 5-year period from
1984-1988. |
Is foster care reentry a significant
contributor to the rise of foster care caseloads?
What are the characteristics of children that are associated with
reentry? |
Descriptive analysis
Cox proportional hazards-model |
Reentry has contributed to the rise
in foster care caseloads, but race is not related to the risk of reentry
in a significant way. |
| Zellman, 1992 |
| Citation (Author(s), Title,
Source, Year) |
Database/
Sample |
Research
Question(s) |
Method of Analysis |
Research Findings |
| Zellman, G. L. (1992). The impact
of case characteristics on child abuse reporting decisions. Child
Abuse & Neglect 16, 57-74. |
Database: National mail survey of
mandated reporters about child abuse reporting behavior.
Sample: 1,196 professionals (pediatricians, psychologists,
social workers, school principals, general and family practitioners,
child psychiatrists, and child care providers). |
What is the impact of certain case
characteristics on reporting decisions? |
Linear transformation was used to interpret the vignette
analysis
Analysis of variance |
In the survey, race was varied in
three vignettes by describing a child alternately as Black or White.
In the case of a vignette focusing on the neglect of a child, respondents
rated the perceived benefits of making a report higher if the child
was identified as White rather than Black. In contrast, for two vignettes
regarding sexual abuse, respondents were more likely to regard a report
as required by law, and more likely to feel a report would benefit
a child and his/her family, if the child were described as Black.
|
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