The US Department of Health and Human Services released a study entitled, “Children of Color in the Child Welfare System: Perspectives from the Child Welfare Community.” Some findings:
---Although black children account for 15% percent of all children in the United States, they account for 25% of substantiated maltreatment victims, white children are 79% of the child population and 51% of all substantiated victims, and Asian and Pacific Islander children are 4% of the population and 1% of substantiated victims.. Hispanic children account for an equal share of the population and substantiated victims.
---Racial disparities are even more pronounced in out-of-home care. Black children comprise 45% of the total number of children in foster care.
---For children reported to CPS, the majority of white children receive support to remain at home, whereas the majority of black children receive foster care black children experience significantly longer stays than white or Hispanic children.
---Although white and black women are equally likely to test positive for drugs, black women were ten times as likely to be reported to CPS after delivery. Most women are drug tested without knowledge or consent after giving birth.
---White children are more likely to be investigated in cases of sexual abuse, and children of color are more likely to be investigated in cases of physical abuse and neglect.
A study by researchers at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found that when doctors examined children, “toddlers with accidental injuries were over five times more likely to be evaluated for child abuse, and over three times more likely to be reported to child protective services if they were African-American or Latino.”
A study of women whose newborns tested positive for cocaine found that the child was more than 72 percent more likely to be taken away, if the mother was Black.
No comments:
Post a Comment