Racial Disparities in the Child Welfare System
Contact: Susan J. Wells
Mary Pfohl Alex BeutelScotty Daniels Ila Kamath
Conducted by: African American Disparities Committee, Minnesota Department of Human Services and University of Minnesota
Case Study Analysis by the University of Minnesota
Question Guiding the Project
Through a case study, can we better identify the mechanisms that lead to racial disproportionality and disparity?
Matched Case Study Goal: 103 Pairs Matched on
Age group (0-5 and 6-11) Reason for referral - type of neglect Gender County
Assessment Outcome
Percent Concordance for Matched Pairs: Opened for Case Management Services During Assessment
33.0 17.5 50.5
11.7 37.9 49.5
44.7 55.3N=103 100%
No
Yes
AfricanAmericanChild of the Pair
Total
No Yes
Caucasian Child of the Pair
Total
McNemar level of significance p = .362Not significant finding
Case Management Outcome 1Matched Pairs
McNemar Level of Significance p = 1.0 Not significant
Percent Concordance for Matched Pairs:Child Placed in Case Management Services
44.4%
22.2%
66.7%
22.2%
11.1%
33.3% N=18
66.7%
33.3%
100%
No
Yes
African American Child of Pair
Total
No Yes
Caucasian Child Of Pair
Total
Case Management Outcome 3 Matched Pairs
5.6 16.7 22.2
16.7 61.1 77.8N=18
22.2 77.8 100%
No
Yes
African AmericanChild of Pair
Total
No Yes
Caucasian ChildOf Pair
Total
McNemar Level of Significance p = 1.0 Not significant finding
Percent Concordance for Matched Pairs:Case Closed in Case Management
Reunification Outcome 1Comparison of All Cases
80.0 20.0 100.0
88.5 11.5 100.0
N=46*84.8 15.2 100%
African American
Caucasian
Race ofChild
Total
No Yes
Court Order forReunification Services
Not Needed
Total
Fisher's Exact Level of Significance p = .650Not Significant finding
Court Order Indicated Reunification Services Not Necessary by Race
*One case missing.
Reunification Outcome 2Comparison of All CasesDischarged from Reunification Placement by Race
35.3 64.7 100.0%
39.1 60.9 100.0%N=40*
37.5 62.5 100%
AfricanAmerican
Caucasian
Race ofChild
Total
No Yes
Discharge fromReunification Placement
Total
Fisher's Level of Significance p = .534 Not significant finding
* 6 cases had court order that reunification not necessary and one case missing.
Multivariate Analysis
Using information about several case descriptors at once, what predicts more severe intervention?That is, was the case referred for
Reunification Services at any time during the intervention process?(Does not included cases that were in placement initially but when home right away.)
*Intensiveness of intervention is placement out of home long enough to require reunification services.
Beta Std. Error
Statistical Significance
Odds for More Intensive Intervention
Caucasian 1.9 .88 .03 7:1
Age of the Child -.39 .10 .00 1.5:1
for every year younger
History of Maltreatment
1.6 .51 .00 5:1
Mom Drug Problem
.03 .67 n.s. -
Mom Financial Problem
-1.06 .77 n.s. -
African American * Age
.30 .13 .02 1.3:1
for every year older up to 11 years of age
African American * Mom Drug Problem
2.9 .96 .00 18:1
Caucasian * Mom Financial Problem
3.63 1.05 .00 38:1
Example of Model Predicting Intensiveness of Intervention
-1.00
.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
8.00
9.00
10.00
11.00
AGE recorded at time of maltreatment
0.00
20.00
40.00
60.00
80.00
100.00
%>
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ases
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RACEB
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Percent Referred for Placement (in Which Referral for Reunification Services was Made)
by Age
Summary
Some case characteristics may lead to differential treatment by race.
In some studies, when all available variables are taken into account for the larger population, the differences appear to cancel each other out.