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Database of Unpublished Research
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| Belanger | Howard | Surbeck |
| Earle | Limb and Perry | Wulczyn 1 |
| Festinger | Moore | Wulczyn 2 |
| Hand | Perry and Limb | |
| Belanger | ||||||
| Citation (Author(s), Title, Source, Year) | Database/ Sample |
Research Question(s) |
Method of Analysis | Research Findings | For Further Info Contact: (For Research Underway and/or in Press) | Estimated Completion/ Publication Date (For Research Underway and/or in Press) |
| Belanger, Kathleen. Examination of racial imbalance for children in foster care: Implications for training. Journal of Health and Social Policy (2002 forthcoming) | All foster children in a county in Texas, over a three-year period (N=279 removals). | 1) What exactly is the
racial imbalance in this county? 2) If there is a disproportionality relative to the population, is it a new phenomenon or has it existed in previous years? 3) If there is a disproportionality relative to the population, when and to what extent does it occur in the case (complaint, validation, placement out of home). 4) If there is an imbalance, what factors appear as causal or contributory? |
The study was exploratory. The entire population was examined, therefore requiring no sampling procedures or statistical inference. The study analyzed frequencies at a variety of points in actual time and case time (time analysis). | 1. African American
children were referred to public child welfare at twice the rate of
Anglos, with complaints validated at 3-4 times the rate of Anglos,
and placed in out-of-home care at 3-17 times the rate of Anglos. This
mirrored the racial proportions of children in poverty for this county
(64% African American). 2. The study did not find evidence of racial discrimination as the cause of disproportionality, although it could not be ruled out. 3. The study suggests that training needs for understanding poverty and for advocacy may be greater in this instance than the need for additional cultural sensitivity. |
Kathleen Belanger, Director, Child Welfare Professional Development, Stephen F. Austin State University, P.O. Box 6165 SFA Station, Nacodoches, Tx. 75962; 936-468-1807; kbelanger@sfasu.edu | Spring, 2002 |
| Earle | ||||||
| Citation (Author(s), Title, Source, Year) | Database/ Sample |
Research Question(s) |
Method of Analysis | Research Findings | For Further Info Contact: (For Research Underway and/or in Press) | Estimated Completion/ Publication Date (For Research Underway and/or in Press) |
| Earle, K. A., and Cross, A. (in-press). Child Abuse and Neglect Among American Indian/Alaska Native Children: An Analysis of Existing Data. Seattle, WA: Casey Family Programs. | NCANDS/24,328 | 1. How accurate are existing figures and reports on the abuse and/or neglect of American Indian children | Statistical Package for the Social Sciences: frequencies, crosstabs, analysis of means | 1. Dramatic variation in data from different sources on same population | Kathleen A. Earle, Ph.D. (207- 372-8863) |
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| Festinger | ||||||
| Citation (Author(s), Title, Source, Year) | Database/ Sample |
Research Question(s) |
Method of Analysis | Research Findings | For Further Info Contact: (For Research Underway and/or in Press) | Estimated Completion/ Publication Date (For Research Underway and/or in Press) |
| Trudy Festinger, DSW | Database: New York City
Adoptions 2000 Sample: 3026 children in out-of-home care |
What are the characteristics
of the population of children and their adoptive parents, and their
placement history, and how do these compare to adoptions from previous
years? How do kin and nonkin adoptions differ? What was the duration of time between various steps along the road to adoption? |
Descriptive statistics in order to complete the population comparisons | Where information on race was available, nearly 75% of the adopted children were Black and nearly 22% were Latino (roughly 25% of the data on race was missing). Since the remaining 3.7% consisted of White, Asian, or children who were of racially mixed heritage, the disproportionate numbers did not allow a valid statistical comparison with the small group of White children with respect to such variables as the durations within the adoption process. At the start of 2000, roughly 96% of children in foster care in New York City were Black or Latino. Hence one might say that the proportion being adopted was representative of their proportion in foster care. | Trudy Festinger: tf2@nyu.edu |
in press |
| Hand | ||||||
| Citation (Author(s), Title, Source, Year) | Database/ Sample |
Research Question(s) |
Method of Analysis | Research Findings | For Further Info Contact: (For Research Underway and/or in Press) | Estimated Completion/ Publication Date (For Research Underway and/or in Press) |
| Carol A. Hand, Indian Child Welfare: Rescuing Children or Homogenizing America?, Ph.D. Dissertation, in progress. | One of the 23 Ojibwe Reservation Communities in the mid-western United States, the county which surrounds the reservation, and child welfare staff at the tribal, county, state, and federal levels. | Grand Tour Question: What forces are at work to maintain the hegemony of Euro-American child welfare paradigms and institutions within an Ojibwe community? A number of "Mini-Tour Questions" are embedded within this overarching framework to explore: (1) factors, both past and present, both within and outside of the Ojibwe reservation community, which influence the present tribal child welfare structure, services, and approaches; (2) Ojibwe community members' definition of "successful" or "good" parenting, "child abuse" or "neglect," and culturally appropriate interventions; and (3) the "ideal" child welfare approaches Ojibwe tribal members would put in place given the opportunity to do so. | The research methodology used for this study is critical ethnography, drawing empirical materials (data) primarily from: (1) ethnographic and semi-structured interviews with key informants (tribal members, tribal social service and court staff, and county/state/Bureau of Indian Affairs child welfare staff); (2) participant observation; and (3) review of relevant policy documents (tribal, state, federal) and local media accounts. | First, the critical
ethnographic research methodology appears to be an appropriate approach
for gathering information within different cultural contexts and for
encouraging informants to voice their perspectives not only on what
was and is the context for families, children, and child welfare systems,
but also to reflect on what could be. Second, initial observations
suggest a number of important issues which will guide further study.
Among these observations are: (1) important differences among Ojibwe
community members. Those members who are employed by the tribal social
services department do not appear to question state and federal institutions,
policies, and practices, while elders remember a time when all of
the community was involved in child rearing and continue to practice this value daily by incorporating children and grandchildren in their activities. (2) deeply-held views by some key county child welfare staff that no cultural differences exist between Ojibwe people and Euro-Americans, although long-term county residents can clearly describe the differences. (3) tribal child welfare programs are not viewed as a priority by some state governments, resulting in minimal funding and little attention to ways cultural consonance could be improved. For example, the designation of Ojibwe foster homes or expanded funding for kinship care have both been noted as crucial means for keeping Ojibwe children safe within their own community. |
Carol A. Hand (Sokaogon Ojibwe), MSSW, Ph.D. Candidate (ABD), Assistant Professor, Illinois State University, School of Social Work, 307 Rachel Cooper Hall, Campus Box 4650, Normal, IL 61790. (309) 438-7206, cahand@ilstu.edu. | Completion date for data collection: August 2002: estimated completion date for dissertation: January 2003. |
| Howard | ||||||
| Citation (Author(s), Title, Source, Year) | Database/ Sample |
Research Question(s) |
Method of Analysis | Research Findings | For Further Info Contact: (For Research Underway and/or in Press) | Estimated Completion/ Publication Date (For Research Underway and/or in Press) |
| Howard, Jeanne (under review). Does one size fit all? A comparison of kin, foster and matched adoptive families. In M.M. Dore (Ed) The post adoption experience: Adoptive families' needs and service outcomes. Washington, D.C.: Child Welfare League of America. | 1340 families receiving Adoption Assistance in the state of Illinois with children 6-18. Survey return rate 34% | Are there differences in child functioning in home, school, community and in health and mental health for children adopted by kin, foster parents and matched adoptive parents? | Comparison of families on a variety of variables, appropriate statistical tests to identify difference. | Overall, children adopted
by kin were reported to fare better than children in foster or matched
adoptive families. The significant majority of these children were
African American. However, kin adopters had significantly lower incomes
than did other adopters. 79% had less than $35,000 per year exclusive
of subsidy as compared to 47% of foster and 25% of matched families.
Further, kin were more likely to have very low incomes: 38% had less
than $15,000 per year, compared to 13% of foster and 6% of matched
families. In addition, kin adopters were more likely to have adopted
more children. Implications: While children adopted by kin appear
to fare better than children in foster or matched adoptive families,
adoption by relatives may reduce their life opportunities in that
they are more likely to be raised in families with very limited resources.
The significant majority of children adopted by kin in this study
were African American. The logical question that follows from this
reality is whether subsidy determinations should consider the child's
needs alone or should include, as one factor, the financial situation of the adopting family. By relying on kin adoption for the placement of African American children we may be inadvertently consigning them to near poverty. |
Jeanne Howard Center for Adoption Studies |
Currently under review - perhaps by summer? |
| Limb and Perry | ||||||
| Citation (Author(s), Title, Source, Year) | Database/ Sample |
Research Question(s) |
Method of Analysis | Research Findings | For Further Info Contact: (For Research Underway and/or in Press) | Estimated Completion/ Publication Date (For Research Underway and/or in Press) |
| Limb, G., & Perry,
R. (in press). Public child welfare and the American Indian: A California
profile. Children and Youth Services Review. |
all public child welfare workers in California (n= 5,741) in 1998 of which 171 identified themselves as American Indian | For California counties with disproportionately high numbers of American Indians represented on public child welfare caseloads, what is the probability that an American Indian worker would have a high proportion of American Indians on his or her caseload? | descriptive statistics, logistic regression, | 1) American Indians are more likely than all other racial/ethnic groups of child welfare workers to have a caseload of American Indians at a level that equals or is greater than the proportion of American Indians residing in the respective county; 2) findings suggest that compared to American Indians, an identification with other racial/ethnic groups is associated with a significant decrease in log odds of workers having a high caseload of American Indians; and 3) California counties appear relatively consistent in that the largest counties with the highest number of American Indians in the general population also have the highest numbers of American Indian workers. | Dr. Gordon Limb, GWB School of Social Work, Campus Box 1196, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130. (314) 935-4127 | 2002 |
| Moore | ||||||
| Citation (Author(s), Title, Source, Year) | Database/ Sample |
Research Question(s) |
Method of Analysis | Research Findings | For Further Info Contact: (For Research Underway and/or in Press) | Estimated Completion/ Publication Date (For Research Underway and/or in Press) |
| Ernestine Moore | State of Michigan Statewide
Wayne County Protective Services Foster Care Adoptions U.S. Census 2000 |
What is the racial distribution
of children in the child welfare system in Michigan and Detroit/Wayne
County? Are minority children overrepresented in the child welfare system in Michigan and Detroit/Wayne County? If minority overrepresentation is found, what are the contributing factors? What percentage of children placed for adoption are placed with parents of different races? Do minority and non-minority children and families presenting with the same issues and risk level receive similar services? |
Review of state databases U.S. Census 2000 Review of reports by others Special database from the state database system Possible case record reviews as the project develops |
African-American children
are overrepresented at both the State and the Detroit/Wayne County
levels. Other minority children are not overrepresented at either
level. While 22% of the State's child population resides in Wayne County, 44% of its foster care program cases are in Wayne County. Of the children receiving services by foster care program staff in Wayne County, 45% are placed in their own homes or with relatives. Of the children placed for adoption, 11 % of the black children and 16% of the white children were placed with parents of different races. |
Ernestine Moore (313) 881-6613 or ernestine.moore@wayne.edu Sharon Claytor Peters (517) 485-3650 or peters.sharon@michiganschildren.org |
Data collection and
analysis - Dec. 2002 Policy and procedure, March 2003 |
| Perry and Limb | ||||||
| Citation (Author(s), Title, Source, Year) | Database/ Sample |
Research Question(s) |
Method of Analysis | Research Findings | For Further Info Contact: (For Research Underway and/or in Press) | Estimated Completion/ Publication Date (For Research Underway and/or in Press) |
| Perry, Robin and Limb, G. (in press). Ethnic/Racial Matching of Clients and Social Workers in Public Child Welfare. Children and Youth Services Review. | A complete census of public child welfare workers employed in California during the summer months of 1998 was attempted. A total of 5,741 workers responded to the survey (approximately a 80% response rate); however, valid data was available for 4,813 public-child-welfare workers throughout California. Census data regarding county population demographics was utilized for standardizing analyses procedures. | To what extent does ethnic/racial matching of clients and workers occur in public-child-welfare agencies throughout California. | This study engaged in a secondary analysis of data collected (via a survey) for purposes other than the specific interest of this paper. A series of simple and multiple logistic regression models were used for analyses. | Controlling for county-specific
population demographics (using Census data), findings suggest that
racial/ethnic matching occurs at a significant rate throughout California.
American Indian, Hispanic/Latino(a), Caucasian, and Asian American child-welfare workers are more than two times (between 2.11 for American-Indian workers and 2.47 times for Asian-American workers) more likely to have caseloads with a high percentage of clients that match their race/ethnicity than workers self-identified as another race/ethnicity. African-American workers are 1.28 times more likely than other workers to have a caseload with a high proportion of African Americans. This lower rate (when compared to other ethnic/racial groups) may be explained by an over-representation of African Americans on public-child-welfare caseloads and/or under-representation of African Americans as public-child-welfare staff. African-American clients were the only ethnic group likely to be over-represented on the caseload of a majority of workers of a different ethnic/racial identification. |
Robin Perry: reperry@garnet.acns.fsu.edu | |
| Surbeck | ||||||
| Citation (Author(s), Title, Source, Year) | Database/ Sample |
Research Question(s) |
Method of Analysis | Research Findings | For Further Info Contact: (For Research Underway and/or in Press) | Estimated Completion/ Publication Date (For Research Underway and/or in Press) |
| Betty Surbeck, Ph.D., Public Child Welfare Agency in Pennsylvania, 2002 | Population of children in family foster care in a public child welfare agency in Pennsylvania from a county that is 12% African-American and around 85% Caucasian. Children had been in placement because of child abuse/neglect in July 1997 for one month and were expected to remain in care at least 6 months. Age of children was one month to 18 years. | 1. Are African-American children more likely to be assigned a caseworker that is from a racial group that is different than their own racial group?, 2. Are there systematic variations in the assessments of attachment Caucasian caseworkers make of African-American caregivers/mothers compared to the assessments that they make of Caucasian caregivers/mothers?, 3. Are there systematic variations in the assessments of attachment African-American caseworkers make of African-American caregivers/mothers compared to the assessments that they make of Caucasian caregivers/mothers? | Use of Child Well-being scales and a likert scale to measure attachment. Quantitative cross section study on July, 1997. Descriptive statistics of demographic characteristics. Cross-tabulations and chi-square, T-tests. Data from case records and caseworkers. | The investigation of racial bias in child welfare assessments showed that over two-fifths of 249 children (161 African-American and 88 Caucasian) were assigned caseworkers (18 Caucasian and 10 African-American) from a race different than their own. Racial bias was particularly evident in Caucasian caseworkers, suggesting a potential for negative judgements of African-American mothers that could impact on their children's well being. | Betty Surbeck | Completion date- January, 2002 |
| Wulczyn 1. | ||||||
| Citation (Author(s), Title, Source, Year) | Database/ Sample |
Research Question(s) |
Method of Analysis | Research Findings | For Further Info Contact: (For Research Underway and/or in Press) | Estimated Completion/ Publication Date (For Research Underway and/or in Press) |
| Wulczyn F. and Brunner, K. 2002. | Multistate Foster Care Data Archive. 1990-1999. | Placement outcomes by primary urban, secondary urban, and non-urban counties - do they differ | Descriptive data and hazard modes | Significant differences within region by race. | wulczyn-fred@chmail.spc.uchicago.edu | Done. HHS is publishing. Don't know due date. |
| Wulczyn 2. | ||||||
| Citation (Author(s), Title, Source, Year) | Database/ Sample |
Research Question(s) |
Method of Analysis | Research Findings | For Further Info Contact: (For Research Underway and/or in Press) | Estimated Completion/ Publication Date (For Research Underway and/or in Press) |
| Wulczyn, F., Orlebeke, B., Haight, J., and Brunner, K. | Multistate Foster Care Data Archive. 1990-1999. | How did the rate of adoption change between 1990 and 1999? Did the changes influences exit rates for certain sub-groups of children? Did differences in subgroup experiences remain the same, improve, or worsen? | Competing risk proportional hazard model. Stratified samples by caretype, age, race/ethnicity, and urbanicity. | Major changes in the likelihood of adoption occurred over the decade. The effects were particularly large for older, urban African American children in kin homes at the time of adoption. The effect was so large the by the end of the decade, longstanding differences between African American children and white children in the total time in care had largely disappeared. We are now testing the findings to make certain other sources of heterogeneity are not partly responsible for the changes. | wulczyn-fred@chmail.spc.uchicago.edu | Paper will be done 2/28/2002 |
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