Child protective services decision-making: The role of children's race and county factors.

Child protective services decision-making: The role of children's race and county factors. Am J Orthopsychiatry. 2019 May 13;: Authors: Maguire-Jack K, Font SA, Dillard R Abstract The current study investigates the role of race and county characteristics in substantiation and out-of-home placement decisions in the United States. Using multilevel models, we analyzed data from counties in the United States available through the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data Systems and Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System to investigate the interactions between children's race and the context in which they live. Our sample consisted exclusively of children whose cases had been investigated; therefore, we were able to focus on the role played by race and county characteristics in substantiation and out-of-home placement decisions made by Child Protective Services, net of the heightened risk factors (or potential biases) that lead to disparate rates of reporting. Adjusting for state and county of investigation, Black, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and multiracial children were more likely than White (non-Hispanic) children to be substantiated or placed out of home, whereas Asian children were less likely to be substantiated or placed out of home. Notably, differences across groups are far smaller in magnitude when demographic and geographic differences are taken into account. Higher county-level poverty, percentages of Black r...
Source: The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Am J Orthopsychiatry Source Type: research