One Vision One Voice: Phase II
September 2017 - March 2019One Vision One Voice (OVOV) is an initiative led by the African Canadian community. It is funded by the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services through Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies.
This project is currently in Phase III. For more information on the current work of OVOV please visit the OACAS website.
A MESSAGE FROM One Vision One Voice (OVOV)
For over 40 years, the Black community in Ontario has known that African Canadian children were being overreported within the walls of Children’s Aid Societies across the province. The community has also known that, once engaged with child welfare, Black families were not being treated the same as other families. Many community leaders and advocates have fought for and demanded that the child welfare sector take action to address this disproportionality and disparity of outcomes for Black families. It is thanks to their selfless and tireless advocacy that One Vision One Voice was born. It is their legacy and dedication upon which the foundation of this work has been built and delivered during Phase I and Phase II of the project.
Read our full letter to the African Canadian community below.
THE AFRICAN CANADIAN, PROVINCIAL ADVISORY COUNCIL (PAC)
A key part of Phase II was ensuring that the African Canadian community had a voice within the child welfare sector. The African Canadian Provincial Advisory Council (PAC) was created to ensure accountability to the Black community in Ontario through the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies (OACAS).
The membership of the PAC is intersectional and includes a cross-section of African Canadian identities. The group is tasked with providing recommendations and advice to the board, executive leadership, and staff of the OACAS on all child welfare matters affecting the African Canadian community in Ontario.
Currently, the PAC has five members, who are referred to as Community Consultants. As Children’s Aid Societies continue to build and develop their African Canadian Local Advisory Councils, the vision has always been that the PAC will grow to include representation from these groups.
What aRE the criteria for PAC membership?
PAC members must:
- Have African ancestry
- Have knowledge of the child welfare issues facing African Canadian families
- Have a full understanding, belief in, and ability to articulate and implement the One Vision One Voice Race Equity Practices
- Demonstrate an understanding of anti-racism, anti-Black racism, child welfare, education, social justice, and systemic analysis
- Have a leadership role within the African Canadian community and/or mainstream professional organizations
To contact the African Canadian Provincial Advisory Council, email: [email protected]
pHASE ii PAC Members:
Dr. Julian Hasford, PAC Chair (GTA Representative)
Gouled Hassan, PAC Member (Northern Ontario Representative)
Joi Hurst, PAC Member (Southern Ontario Representative — Windsor)
Ikram Jama, PAC Member (Eastern Ontario Representative — Ottawa)
Notisha Massaquoi, PAC Member (GTA Representative)
NEED A SERVICE OR RESOURCE SPECIFICALLY FOR THE AFRICAN CANADIAN COMMUNITY?
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A LETTER FROM ONE VISION ONE VOICE AND THE AFRICAN CANADIAN PROVINCIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
One Vision One Voice – Pushing Boundaries
Phase II of the One Vision One Voice (OVOV) project has been an extremely momentous time for the child welfare sector and the African Canadian community.
The Project was first launched due to an overwhelming push from the African Canadian community for the Ontario government and the child welfare sector to acknowledge and address the overrepresentation of African Canadian children and youth in care.
This work is critical; however, an end date has always been attached to Phase II of the project. Because of this, the OVOV team has been intentional about ensuring that Phase II set a foundation for the sector and laid a platform on which the child welfare sector, meaning every Children’s Aid Society in the province, could make change and build systems to improve the experience of African Canadian families and eliminate overrepresentation and disparity.
There has been a staggering amount of work that the team has completed during Phase II, but one of the most overwhelming and perhaps most important has been the Power Up! Symposium for Black Youth in Care. This event saw 130 Black youth in care come together for the first time, in one location, to learn about their culture, have an opportunity to be proud of their heritage, and share their experiences within child welfare.
These youth spoke about the pain they experienced when they were taken from their homes, the separation of siblings, and the anti-Black racism that they face in their foster or group homes. Many of the youth were unable to even name what they were experiencing until attending the Power Up! Symposium.
These youth asked for action. While the event was successful, and some traction was made to ensure that kinship would be used more often for Black families, there is still more work to be done to ensure that our Black children have racially and culturally safe places to call home when they are placed in care.
Despite our best intentions, our work, and our deep understanding of the many issues that intersect the Black community and child welfare, the Phase II One Vision One Voice team will not be around to see these changes come to fruition.
It is up to the Black community in Ontario to once again take up the mantel and speak up for those of us who cannot yet speak for themselves.
It is now up to the community to ensure that the work that was done and the foundation that was built does not crumble.
It is up to the community—every single one of you—to ensure that the road ahead continues to be built. That child welfare and every Children’s Aid Society continues to examine itself and continues to live the 11 Race Equity Practices that have been laid out before them as a solution to the gross overrepresentation of families of African descent in the child welfare system.
It is now up to you to say, “No more!” and “Never again!”
In personhood, solidarity, and immense gratitude.
Sincerely,
The One Vision One Voice Team
The One Vision One Voice Team
Kike Ojo, Project Manager
Gigi Goary, Implementation Specialist
Kearie Daniel, Communications and Community Engagement Specialist
David Blatt, Data Specialist
Judie Powell, Community Engagement Worker
Camisha Sibblis, Community Engagement Worker
News & Media
Various media mentions and articles regarding the One Vision One Voice Project.
The Race Equity Practices
On September 29, 2016, through the guidance and leadership of the African Canadian community, the One Vision One Voice project launched the Practice Framework at a one-day symposium. This framework consists of Part I, the Research Report, and Part II, the Race Equity Practices.
The 11 Race Equity Practices outlined in the Practice Framework document are the principles that all Children’s Aid Societies in Ontario should use to improve outcomes for African Canadian children and families who come into contact with the child welfare system. These practices are best social work practice.
Is your agency following the One Vision One Voice Race Equity Practices? You can download a one-page poster that lists all the practices. Share this with your local agency, and ask them how they are delivering services for Black families.
Our goal is to address the disproportionalities and eliminate the disparities in outcomes for African Canadian families when they engage with Ontario’s child welfare system.
Practice Framework Part 1: Research Report
Practice Framework Part 2: The Race Equity Practices
One Vision One Voice Strategic Map
One Vision One Voice Race Equity Practices Poster
Power Up! Our Black Youth
“For the first time i can say i am black. I am proud to say that i am black. It feels good.”
African Canadian Youth in Care at the Power Up Symposium
On July 10–11, 2018, history was made in the province of Ontario when 130 Black youth living in care (foster care, group homes, kinship care) attended a symposium designed specifically for them.
The event was created to help African Canadian youth in care become critical actors in their own stories through workshops on African history and their roots, anti-Black racism, and activism.
The highlight of the event was the Ceremony of Belonging. Led by two elders from the African Canadian community, the ceremony focused on affirming youth. Adult participants who were members of the African Canadian community physically encircled all 130 youth, each sharing comforting words they wanted the youth to hear. Staff voiced statements to the youth such as, “You are loved,” “You are special,” “You are wanted,” and in turn the youth shared with the community the words they wanted heard, including “Thank you,” “We are brave,” and “I know I am worthy.” The event marked a turning point for many of the youth. They gave positive feedback attesting to the intense feeling of connection they felt over the two days.
What did Youth Say?
We need staff and foster families that look like us and that care about us.
We want to feel included in the foster families that we are placed with. We don’t want to feel like criminals or prisoners.
Stop splitting families up.
We need access and choice about the food we eat, including having access to cultural food, spiritual needs, hair products, etc.
Help develop skills of parents for reunification.
We want to connect to other black youth through societies and where we live.
We want to stay in our communities if we have to be removed from our homes.
Black Youth in Action: Youth Provincial Advisory Council (YPAC)
Black Youth are experiencing anti-Black racism within the foster homes and group homes in which they are being placed by Children’s Aid Societies. They have expressed in no uncertain terms that they want to have access to other Black youth, and they want to come together and have a say in the direction of their lives. Black youth have a right to direct the policies and Children’s Aid Societies that so drastically impact their life.
In April 2018, the updated Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017 (CYFSA) came into effect with the following new provisions:
Services provided to children and families should be child centered.
Children and families have better outcomes when services build on their strengths through prevention, early intervention, and community support.
Services provided to children and families should respect their diversity and the principle of inclusion.
Systemic racism and the barriers it creates for children and families receiving services must continue to be addressed.
One Vision One Voice has created a Youth Provincial Advisory Council Framework that lays out how the child welfare sector can engage Black youth across the province. Both provincially and at the child welfare zone and local levels.
The purpose of the YPAC is to create consistent opportunities for youth to:
Have a collective voice to mobilize change through advocacy.
Have a safe space to support cultural connections.
Build a supportive and stronger community for youth of African descent.
Innovation: Community Engagement Workers
You’ve just gotten home from work and you receive a call from a Children’s Aid Society saying that they’ve been contacted by someone about your child and they need to speak to you. Or, you have an open file with CAS and you feel that anti-Black racism is preventing them from closing the case. Currently in Ontario, there is no place to officially log complaints against Children’s Aid Societies. There is also no one place that Black families can turn to, to get support. For 6 months, One Vision One Voice was able to change this, by hiring two Community Engagement Workers (CEWs). The CEWs roles were a pilot project to provide support to Black families needing help, by attending CAS meetings with them, helping to translate CAS language and address issues of systemic and anti-Black racism that the families may be facing. The CEWs also provided support to Children’s Aid Societies themselves, who asked for help finding racially and culturally appropriate services for Black families, or understanding a families cultural frame of reference.
Other uses of the position have been clinical review, development of investigation plans, community service agency suggestions and complaints about how an individual has been treated by a CAS.
One Vision One Voice recommends that Community Engagment Workers dedicated to the supporting the African Canadian community be hired at every Children’s Aid Society.
Have Your Say — African Canadian Local Advisory Councils
To change the experience of African Canadian families within Children’s Aid Societies (CASs), there needs to be consistent engagement of the African Canadian community. The community must continue to hold CASs accountable. One Vision One Voice has created a framework for African Canadian Local Advisory Councils (LACs) to be created at every CAS across the province. This framework has been shared with Executive Directors and Directors of Service at all CASs. African Canadian LACs should be designed to advise and provide recommendations to CASs in the following areas:
CAS Direction
Ensuring that the strategic direction of the CAS reflects and includes the Race Equity Practices set out in the One Vision One Voice Practice Framework
Advocacy
Articulate the concerns, needs, and barriers around child welfare faced by African Canadians within their local communities.
Community Accountability
Represent the African Canadian community in all matters pertaining to child welfare in the spirit of One Vision One Voice.
Does your CAS have an African Canadian Local Advisory Council? Call and find out.
Download the African Canadian Local Advisory Council Framework and share it with your Local CAS
All In! The Experience of African Canadian Staff in The Child Welfare System
In November 2018, One Vision One Voice held the first-ever African Canadian child welfare staff symposium, All In! The Experience of African Canadian Staff in the Child Welfare System.
The experiences shared at the symposium revealed that African Canadian staff within the sector uniformly felt (to name a few):
Isolated
Limited career advancement opportunities
Unheard
Emotionally burdened by persistent microaggressions
Afraid to speak up
De-professionalized/De-skilled
Silenced
OF ADDITIONAL CONCERN IS THAT ATTENDEES EXPRESSED THEY HAD EXPERIENCED:
- Anti-Black racism within their Children’s Aid Society (i.e., place of work) 79%
- Anti-Black racism from service users (including use of the N-word) and/or community partners in the context of their employment (e.g., judges, police, teachers, lawyers, clients) 84%
Watch the All In! African Canadian Staff Symposium Video
African Canadian Child Welfare Employee Network
Affinity groups are a recognized best practice approach to fostering inclusive workplaces. They bring together people with something in common: this shared element can be culture or race, gender identity, interests, or hobbies. This document lays out a framework for a race-based affinity group in the child welfare sector. Affinity groups can also be called clubs, networking groups, or employee resource groups.
One Vision One Voice recommends that the child welfare sector develop a provincial African Canadian Child Welfare Employee Network with opportunities for zone-based and local CAS groups to be created.
Providing staff with a way to collectivize, discuss these issues, and problem solve ways to address them can enable the sector to grow more fully towards One Vision One Voice Race Equity Practice 8, which identifies supporting African Canadian staff to organize and participate in African Canadian staff groups and province-wide initiatives as a key tactic.
Download the Framework to see how Black staff can organize an affinity group in their local CAS.
Data & Research
The Ontario Human Rights Commission, the Anti-Racism Directorate, the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies, and the One Vision One Voice project have all identified the collection of identity-based data as a critical priority for the child welfare sector in Ontario.
We know that race matters in child welfare. And the collection of good data is essential to informing policy and practice to improve outcomes for African Canadian children, youth, and families.
Through the use of data, child welfare agencies are able to assess the extent of racial disproportionality and disparities, identify the underlying causes, and measure progress towards improving service outcomes.
One Vision One Voice has asked Societies to:
COLLECT DISAGGREGATED RACE-BASED DATA
INPUT ALL DATA INTO CPIN OR THE ORGANIZATION’S LEGACY SYSTEM
REGULARLY ANALYZE AND REPORT ON THE DATA
ENSURE STAFF HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS TO GATHER DATA
It is important that agencies do all these things so that we know how many Black children are in care, why Black families are being referred to child welfare, where families are experiencing points of systemic and anti-Black racism, and what the outcomes are for Black families compared with those of other races.
However, data and the way in which it is collected and analyzed can also serve to reinforce negative outcomes for African Canadian families.
RACE/POPULATION GROUP FIELD IN THE PERSON RECORD
- Race should first be inputted at the intake/referral stage of a case. If the referral source states the child is Black, then that is the race that should be maintained in the Race/Population Group field. This is because the referral source’s belief that the case participant is Black may have influenced the referral decision. Even if the case participant states they are not Black, this field should remain as Black. The Identity-based Data Collection section of the person record can be used to maintain self-reported Race.
- If race is not captured at the intake/referral stage, it should then be inputted after an investigation. This should be the race that the worker doing the investigation believes the case participant is. This is because the investigation worker’s belief that the case participant is Black may influence decision-making. The Identity-based Data Collection section of the person record can be used to maintain self-reported Race.
- If a case participant is “White and Black” they should be counted as “Black” when analyzing data
- Society staff should not use the field “White and multiple visible minorities” for a Black case participant. This is because they will not be counted as Black during data analysis. Therefore, they should be entered as “Black.”
- Society staff should review all case participants with “White and multiple visible minorities” prior to data analysis. If the investigation worker believes the case participant is Black, they should be entered as “Black.”
- Society staff should not use the field “Multiple visible minorities” for a Black case participant. This is because they will not be counted as Black during data analysis. Therefore, they should be entered as “Black.”
- Society staff should review all case participants with “Multiple visible minorities” prior to data analysis. If the investigation worker believes the case participant is Black, they should be entered as “Black.”
- Society staff should not use the field “Other” for a Black case participant. This is because they will not be counted as Black during data analysis. Therefore, they should be entered as “Black.”
- Society staff should review all case participants with “Other” prior to data analysis. If the investigation worker believes the case participant is Black, they should be entered as “Black.”
- There should be no investigated cases with “Unknown” race. Society staff should review all “Unknown” fields prior to data analysis. If the case was investigated, the investigation worker should enter the race they believe the case participant is. This is because the investigation worker’s belief that the case participant is Black may influence decision-making.
CPIN AND AFRICAN CANADIAN DATA COLLECTION — RECOMMENDATIONS:
- Update Race/Population Group field to be up-to-date with standards set out by the Anti-Racism Data Standards defined by the Anti-Racism Directorate
- Make the Race/Population Group field mandatory for intake/referral workers and investigation workers. By not having Race/Population Group as a mandatory field, workers do not have to enter race-based information.
RACE AND SERIOUS OCCURRENCE REPORTS (SORS)
- There is no Race field included in paper SORs. The current paper version of SORs should include a Race field. This Race field should be up-to-date with standards set out by the Anti-Racism Data Standards defined by the Anti-Racism Directorate.
- There is a section for SORs in the “Issues and Proceedings -> Incidents” section of the CPIN Person Record. Society staff should input SORs into CPIN. This will allow Societies to analyze the data disaggregated by Race.
IDENTITY-BASED DATA COLLECTION
- Update necessary fields to be up-to-date with standards set out by the Anti-Racism Data Standards defined by the Anti-Racism Directorate. As the Identity-based Data Standards contain many fields other than Race, further work should be done alongside OACAS groups, such as the Equity of Outcomes Strategic Council and Anti-Oppression Roundtable, to ensure that fields are appropriate.
RACE AND ONTARIO INCIDENCE STUDY (OIS)
- OVOV suggests that the OIS work with OACAS and the OVOV Provincial Advisory Council regarding data collection and analysis of African Canadian families. As stated in the OVOV Anti-Black Racism Principles for Researchers and Database Designers, researchers should ensure appropriate participation of the African Canadian community at all stages of the research process. Appropriate participation should be defined by the African Canadian community, then promoted by researchers and resourced by funding bodies.
RACE AND ONTARIO LOOKING AFTER CHILDREN (ONLAC)
- OVOV suggests that OnLAC work with OACAS and the OVOV Provincial Advisory Council regarding data collection and analysis of African Canadian foster youth. As stated in the OVOV Anti-Black Racism Principles for Researchers and Database Designers, researchers should ensure appropriate participation of the African Canadian community at all stages of the research process. Appropriate participation should be defined by the African Canadian community, then promoted by researchers and resourced by funding bodies.
THE CHILD WELFARE PERFORMANCE INDICATOR PROJECT
- OVOV suggests that the Child Welfare Performance Indicator Project continue to include participation of the African Canadian community at Working Group meetings. This means active recruitment of expert reviewers, including academics with expertise in equity, anti-racism, anti-Black racism, and anti-colonialism and community leaders with expertise in African Canadian culture. Appropriate participation should be defined by the African Canadian community, then promoted by researchers and resourced by funding bodies.
QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PLANS (QIPS)
- OVOV understands that the QIPs help ensure that Societies are meeting minimum child protection standards. However, it is unknown whether striving to meet these standards leads to negative quality of service to African Canadian families. Owing to the influence of unconscious bias and White supremacy (See Whiteliness and institutional racism: hiding behind (un)conscious bias), Society workers need to take extra time to critically reflect on their decision-making with African Canadian families. Therefore, OVOV recommends an examination of the possible differential impact of QIPs on African Canadian families.
Ministry Quarterly Reports
- OVOV suggests that Ministry Quarterly Reports be released with disaggregated race data
Anti-Black Racism Principles for Researchers and Database DesignersAnti-Black Racism Principles for Researches and Database Designers
One of the ways in which the child welfare system perpetuates anti-Black racism is through biased data collection and research methods. Further, these methods often do not include input from the community affected by the research nor account for White supremacy as a key force shaping the design and conclusions of the research itself. To address the specific problem of anti-Black racism in data collection and research, OVOV has developed a set of principles to guide researchers and database designers on how to best collect quantitative data from African Canadian children, youth, and families involved with the child welfare system.
SUGGESTED SCALES THAT CAN BE ADAPTED FOR USE IN ONTARIO CHILD WELFARE
(Note: Scales are attached.)
ANTI-RACISM BEHAVIORAL INVENTORY (ARBI)
Download the report here.
- The ARBI is a measure designed to assess anti-racism awareness and behavior among students in counseling and counseling psychology programs within the United States.
ACTIVIST IDENTITY AND COMMITMENT SCALE (AICS)
Download the report here.
- The original purpose of the AICS was to understand how engaging in political activism is associated with levels of well-being. However, this scale could be used as a template to quantitatively understand board member and senior management activism related to anti-Black racial justice.
THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL INVENTORY OF BLACK IDENTITY-TEEN (MIBI-T)
Download the report here.
- The MIBI-t is a measure of racial identity specifically for African American adolescents. It consists of seven subscales representing three cross-situationally stable dimensions (Centrality, Regard, and Identity).
ETHNIC IDENTITY SCALE-BRIEF (EIS-B)
Download the report here.
- The EIS-B is a brief measure of the multidimensional construct of ethnic–racial identity
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2014.989442
COMPREHENSIVE RACE SOCIALIZATION INVENTORY (CRSI)
Download the report here.
- The CRSI systematically captures the race socialization process within Black families
Reference: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40034327
INDEX OF RACE-RELATED STRESS FOR ADOLESCENTS (IRRSA) (REVISED VERSION)
Download the report here.
- The IRRSA is a 32-item instrument designed to measure race-related stress. Subjects indicate which racist event they or family members have experienced in their lifetimes and their appraisal of these events.
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1080/15283488.2014.989442
COLOR-BLIND RACIAL ATTITUDES SURVEY (CoBRAS)
Download the report here.
- CoBRAS assesses cognitive aspects of color-blind racial attitudes by assessing three factors: Unawareness of Racial Privilege, Institutional Discrimination, and Blatant Racial Issues. Greater endorsement of color-blind racial attitudes was related to greater levels of racial prejudice and a belief that society is just and fair.
Reference: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.47.1.59
ANTI-BLACK RACISM PRINCIPLES FOR RESEARCHERS AND DATABASE DESIGNERS
Download the report here.
- These principles can be used by researchers and database designers whose research will include African Canadians. The goal of the principles is to support researchers and database designers in collecting, analyzing, and reporting on data that supports the needs of African Canadians and does not further reinforce negative, anti-Black racist beliefs of African Canadians.
The Research
REALIZING A SUSTAINABLE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM IN ONTARIO, COMMISSION TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE CHILD WELFARE, 2012
Download the report here.
This report mentions race/racism three times:
- “Families receiving child welfare services often face a complex array of issues that may include poverty, addiction, racism, poor health, inadequate housing, unemployment and social isolation.”
- CASs needed to have the knowledge, the skills, and the capacity to ensure the safety and well‐being of Ontario’s children in families and communities as diverse as the world. In response, many CASs were putting in place Anti‐Oppression and Anti‐Racism Policies and training programs for their staff and volunteers… there were indications of concern from some ethno‐cultural communities that CASs were falling short in providing services that were culturally sensitive. Office of the Auditor General of Ontario, Annual Report 2015.
- Does not mention race or disproportionality
ONTARIO CHILD PROTECTION STANDARDS (2016)
Download the report here.
This document mentions race twice:
- As anti-oppression as a Standards for All Phases of Child Protection Service Delivery:
- An Anti-oppression (AO) approach includes an analysis of power imbalances based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and identity, ability, age, class, geographic location and other social factors. In order to address power imbalances, child welfare professionals should continuously reflect on their own social location so as to not inadvertently act in ways that recreate patterns of systemic oppression during their interactions with families.
- In the definition for Domestic Violence:
- A gender-based analysis considers the differential risks and impacts of domestic violence based on gender. These risks and impacts may be compounded when gender intersects with other social factors such as race, ethnicity, culture, class, age, and disability.
ELIGIBILITY SPECTRUM, 2016
Download the report here.
The Eligibility Spectrum mentions race once in relation to Child Exposure to Partner Violence.
“…in an intimate relationship is required to understand the relationships between men and women, their access to resources, their activities, and the constraints they face relative to one another (Critical Connections, 2010). A gender-based analysis provides information that recognizes the differences gender makes, relative to race, ethnicity, culture, class, age, disability, and any other status.”
CHILD, YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES ACT, 2017
Download the report here.
Race/racism are mentioned six times in the legislation:
Preamble
Systemic racism and the barriers it creates for children and families receiving services must continue to be addressed. All children should have the opportunity to meet their full potential. Awareness of systemic biases and racism and the need to address these barriers should inform the delivery of all services for children and families.
Services to children and young persons should be provided in a manner that takes into account a child’s or young person’s race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, family diversity, disability, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression
CHILD PROTECTION
Best interests of child: Where a person is directed in this Part to make an order or determination in the best interests of a child, the person shall, consider any other circumstance of the case that the person considers relevant, including, the child’s race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, family diversity, disability, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression,
INTERIM AND EXTENDED SOCIETY CARE
Placement: The society having care of a child shall choose a residential placement for the child that, where possible, respects the child’s race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, family diversity, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression;
ADOPTION AND ADOPTION LICENSING
Best interests of child: Where a person is directed in this Part to make an order or determination in the best interests of a child, the person shall, consider any other circumstance of the case that the person considers relevant, including, the child’s race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, family diversity, disability, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression,
REGULATIONS
Minister’s regulations: governing how service providers, in making decisions in respect of any child, are to take into account the child’s race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, family diversity, disability, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression in order
THE REPORT OF THE EXPERT PANEL ON THE DEATHS OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN RESIDENTIAL PLACEMENTS, 2018
The identities of the young people were not incorporated into service delivery or care. Indigenous, Black, and LGBTQI2S young people were not consistently connected to identity-based or culture-based programs, nor was their identity incorporated into their care. There was a lack of attention paid to their identities, and minimal efforts toward inclusivity.
INTERRUPTED CHILDHOODS: OVER-REPRESENTATION OF INDIGENOUS AND BLACK CHILDREN IN ONTARIO CHILD WELFARE
Download the report here.
The issues that give rise to the over-representation of Indigenous and Black children in the child welfare system are complex and multi-faceted. For example, low income, which is one of the intergenerational effects of colonialism, slavery, and racism in society, is a major driver of child welfare involvement for Indigenous and Black children. Many Indigenous, Black, and other racialized families, communities, advocates, and others are also concerned that systemic racial discrimination in the child welfare system plays a significant role.
OACAS 2018–2023 STRATEGIC PLAN
Download the report here.
OACAS acknowledges that racism, anti-Black racism, anti-Indigenous racism, and social inequity lead to overrepresentation and a disparity in outcomes. We will ensure services are culturally safe, support children as they develop their identity, and give them a sense of belonging. We will ensure the provision of the active offer of French language services.
Court Processes Flowchart for ‘Process Flowchart for Court: March 2016’
This is a graphical example of how a Child Protection case can move through the courts.
Download here.
Child Protection Case Flow Diagram for ‘Child Protection Case Flow Diagram MCYS 2016’
Research: Specific to Child Welfare
THE “FRAGILITY OF GOODNESS”: BLACK PARENTS’ PERSPECTIVE ABOUT RAISING CHILDREN IN TORONTO, WINNIPEG, AND ST. JOHN’S OF CANADA
Download the report here.
The findings suggest how racist ideas in Canada function as “color-blind” laws and policies that affect the everyday lives of Black people, including their parenting practices. The study calls on child welfare services in Canada to develop a comprehensive understanding of Black parenting practices, perhaps enabling more Black children to remain home safely.
Paul Banahene Adjei, Delores Mullings, Michael Baffoe, Lloydetta Quaicoe, Latif Abdul-Rahman, Victoria Shears & Shari Fitzgerald (2018) The “Fragility of Goodness”: Black Parents’ Perspective about Raising Children in Toronto, Winnipeg, and St. John’s of Canada, Journal of Public Child Welfare, 12:4, 461-491,DOI: 10.1080/15548732.2017.1401575
BLACK PARENTS ASK FOR A SECOND LOOK
Download the report here.
This study presents qualitative findings on Black parents’ knowledge, perceptions, and experiences of navigating through complex child protection rules and processes in Toronto, Canada. Results revealed that Black parenting experiences are shaped and influenced by cultural knowledge and perceived anti-Black racism in Canada, yet child welfare agencies hardly consider this information in their engagements with Black families. Further, most participants had negative perceptions of child welfare agencies as people who disunite families and racially target Black families. The study reifies that child welfare agencies in Canada need to take necessary steps to understand the complex contexts of Black parenting in order to engage Black parents positively in the child protection process, perhaps enabling more Black children to remain at home safely. Even where removal (protective custody) is the preferred plan, child welfare agencies will develop strategies to make better use of the potentials that birth parents possess in order to enhance Black children’s lives.
Adjei, P. B., & Minka, E. (2018). Black parents ask for a second look: Parenting under ‘White’Child Protection rules in Canada. Children and Youth Services Review, 94, 511-524.
PUTTING RACISM ON THE TABLE: THE IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION OF A NOVEL RACIAL EQUITY AND CULTURAL COMPETENCY TRAINING/CONSULTATION MODEL IN NEW YORK CITY
Download the report here.
This article presents the findings of a mixed-methods study of a racial equity and cultural competency training and case consultation model for child welfare practitioners. Findings suggest that the model enhanced participants’ capacity for effective practice with diverse populations. A pre-test/post-test instrument and evaluation revealed statistically significant increases of participants’ awareness, knowledge, and skills related to culturally diverse populations.
Anthony De Jesús, Jane Hogan, Robert Martinez, Joan Adams & Tula Hawkins Lacy (2016) Putting Racism on the Table: The Implementation and Evaluation of a Novel Racial Equity and Cultural Competency Training/Consultation Model in New York City, Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 25:4, 300-319, DOI: 10.1080/15313204.2016.1206497</p<
CASEWORKER PERSPECTIVES ON MENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES AMONG RACIAL ETHNIC MINORITY YOUTH IN CHILD WELFARE
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The study employed discourse analysis to examine child welfare caseworker racial explanations of mental health disparities. Results showed that caseworkers cited factors at the institutional, community, and organizational levels as causes of racial disparities, but also ascribed ultimate responsibility for service use on clients and on caseworkers to facilitate access to services. Integrating anti-racist perspectives into caseworker training and agency policies can challenge racial stereotypes and empower caseworkers and agencies to address structural-level racial disparities.
Christina DeNard, Antonio Garcia & Elizabeth Circo (2017) Caseworker Perspectives on Mental Health Disparities Among Racial/Ethnic Minority Youth in Child Welfare, Journal of Social Service Research, 43:4, 470-486, DOI: 10.1080/01488376.2017.1299827
EXPLORING THE COMPLEXITY OF HAIR AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN FEMALE ADOLESCENTS IN FOSTER CARE
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This exploratory qualitative study examined the hair and hair care experiences and perceptions of African American female adolescents in foster care. The goal was to examine hair and hair’s connection to, and influence on, sense of self and self-esteem for African American female adolescents in foster care. Results from the study indicated African American female adolescents in foster care identify hair as important. Participants noted hair was connected to appearance and shaped who they are and how they viewed themselves as African American females. The findings further emphasized the role of racial socialization and the importance of a supportive hair care environment.
Dove, L. M., & Powers, L. E. (2018). Exploring the complexity of hair and identity among African American female adolescents in foster care. Children and Youth Services Review, 95, 368-376.
PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AND RELATIONAL PERMANENCE AMONG AFRICAN AMERICAN ADOLESCENTS IN FOSTER CARE
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The study focuses on child well-being among African American adolescents in care with specific attention given to relational permanence—the concept of continuous supportive relationships marked by mutual trust and respect. Relational permanence was positively correlated with higher psychological well-being and an increase in relational permanence over time also significantly predicted higher psychological well-being over time. Findings indicate that social support from a variety of different sources aid youth in staying mentally healthy despite major disruptions in support from biological parents. These findings support the importance of developing a wide variety of social support networks to improve positive developmental outcomes among African American adolescents in foster care.
Williams-Butler, A., Ryan, J.P., McLoyd, V.C. et al. J Child Fam Stud (2018) 27: 3277. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1155-8
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1155-8
ANTI-BLACK RACISM, BIO-POWER, AND GOVERNMENTALITY: DECONSTRUCTING THE SUFFERING OF BLACK FAMILIES INVOLVED WITH CHILD WELFARE (PART I)
This article focuses on how colonialism, anti-Black racism, and White supremacy are embodied by Ontario’s child welfare system in relation to narratives of suffering experienced by Black families involved with this sector. The authors discuss how these experiences are an embodiment of the Foucauldian concepts of bio-power and governmentality. Understanding this embodiment is crucial for deconstructing how anti-Black racism, colonialism, and White supremacy are manifested in the day-to-day policies and practices of child welfare.
Phillips, Doret and Pon, Gordon. “Anti-Black Racism, Bio-Power, and Governmentality: Deconstructing the Suffering of Black Families Involved with Child Welfare (Part I).” Journal of Law and Social Policy 28. (2018): 81-100.
See: https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/jlsp/vol28/iss1/5
Reference: https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/jlsp/vol28/iss1/5
ASSESSING PARENTING BEHAVIORS ACROSS RACIAL GROUPS: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM
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Black families are disproportionately represented in the child welfare system. This may in part result from racial bias in judgments made by those who report and investigate child maltreatment. However, little is known about how race influences judgments about parenting. This article relies on data from a population‐based survey to examine whether the race of interviewers, relative to the race of families they interview, influences parenting assessments. It reports evidence of racial bias in some measures of interviewer‐assessed parenting behaviors. Racial bias is more pronounced for measures that require subjective assessments on the part of interviewers.
Lawrence M. Berger, Marla McDaniel, and Christina Paxson, “Assessing Parenting Behaviors across Racial Groups: Implications for the Child Welfare System,” Social Service Review 79, no. 4 (December 2005): 653-688.
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1086/454389
Impacts of Discrimination of Black People
PATHWAYS TO PAIN: RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND RELATIONS BETWEEN PARENTAL FUNCTIONING AND CHILD PSYCHOSOCIAL WELL-BEING
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The relationship between racial discrimination, parental functioning, and child adjustment is not well understood. The goal of the study was to assess parental reports of discrimination in relation to depression and parenting practices, as well as on subsequent child internalizing and externalizing problems in low-income Black families. The results suggest that discrimination is negatively associated with adult well-being and that parent discrimination was directly associated with child emotional problems. This suggests the continued need to address and treat discriminatory practices more generally.
Anderson, R. E., Hussain, S. B., Wilson, M. N., Shaw, D. S., Dishion, T. J., & Williams, J. L. (2015). Pathways to Pain: Racial Discrimination and Relations Between Parental Functioning and Child Psychosocial Well-Being. Journal of Black Psychology, 41(6), 491–512. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798414548511
RACE AND THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN POLICE STOPS AND DEPRESSION AMONG YOUNG ADULTS: A RESEARCH NOTE
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The study examines the association between police stops and symptoms of depression. Both Black and White young adults who have been stopped by police had more symptoms of depression compared to their never stopped counterparts. Among Blacks, the association was attenuated but persisted after controlling for criminal behavior and justice contact. In contrast, among Whites, the association between police stops and depression was smaller in magnitude, and it was explained by self-reported criminal behavior. Given the frequency and the number of people in contact with police, the authors point to the need to sensitize police departments to potential mental health consequences of proactive policing, and the decreased willingness of the public to seek police help as a result of previous distressing encounters.
Baćak, V., & Nowotny, K. M. (2018). Race and the Association Between Police Stops and Depression Among Young Adults: A Research Note. Race and Justice.
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1177/2153368718799813
RACIAL/ETHNIC DISCRIMINATION AND WELL-BEING DURING ADOLESCENCE: A META-ANALYTIC REVIEW
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This meta-analytic study systematically investigates the relations between perceived racial/ethnic discrimination and socioemotional distress, academics, and risky health behaviors during adolescence, and potential variation in these relations. Greater perceptions of racial/ethnic discrimination were linked to more depressive and internalizing symptoms; greater psychological distress; poorer self-esteem; lower academic achievement and engagement; less academic motivation; greater engagement in externalizing behaviors, risky sexual behaviors, and substance use; and more associations with deviant peers. Metaregression and subgroup analyses indicated differences by race/ethnicity, Gender × Race/Ethnicity interactions, developmental stage, timing of retrospective measurement of discrimination, and country. Overall, this study highlights the pernicious effects of racial/ethnic discrimination for adolescents across developmental domains and suggests who is potentially at greater risk.
Benner, A. D., Wang, Y., Shen, Y., Boyle, A. E., Polk, R., & Cheng, Y. P. (2018). Racial/ethnic discrimination and well-being during adolescence: A meta-analytic review. American Psychologist, 73(7), 855.
OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE SYMPTOMS IN AFRICAN AMERICAN YOUNG ADULTS: THE ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN RACIAL DISCRIMINATION, RACIAL IDENTITY, AND OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE SYMPTOMS
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This study examined the association between racial discrimination and obsessive-compulsive symptom distress over time, as well as how racial identity moderates this relationship. Results support the notion that racial discrimination is a risk factor, and specific patterns of racial identity are vulnerability and protective factors, in the development and maintenance of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. These findings have the potential to transform assessment and treatment of OC symptoms within African American samples.
Willis, H. A., & Neblett Jr, E. W. (2018). OC symptoms in African American young adults: The associations between racial discrimination, racial identity, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Journal of obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, 19, 105-115.
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jocrd.2018.09.002
Understanding White Supremacy, Anti-Black Racism, Systemic Racism, Bias
WHITELINESS AND INSTITUTIONAL RACISM: HIDING BEHIND (UN)CONSCIOUS BIAS
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Unconscious bias happens by our brains making incredibly quick judgements and assessments without us realising. Biases are influenced by background, cultural environment and experiences and we may not be aware of these views and opinions, or of their full impact and implications. This article opposes this point of view by arguing that bias is not unconscious but is (un)conscious. Asserting that racism stems from ‘unconscious bias’ diminishes white supremacy and maintains white innocence as a ‘will to forget’ institutional racism. In equality and diversity training ‘unconscious bias’ has become a performative act to move beyond racism through training to participate in a constructed ‘post-racial’ reality. The article argues that through decolonizing ‘unconscious bias’, ‘white fragility’ and ‘self-forgiveness’ we can begin to see hidden institutional whiteliness at the base of (un)conscious bias.
Shirley Anne Tate & Damien Page (2018) Whiteliness and institutional racism: hiding behind (un)conscious bias, Ethics and Education, 13:1, 141-155, DOI: 10.1080/17449642.2018.1428718
RECONSIDERING THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD: SLAVERY AND RACIALIZATION IN THE MAKING OF THE CANADIAN STATE
This paper attempts to recast the narrative of the Underground Railroad through the lens of an anti-imperialist, anti-racist political economy, departing from the view of Canada’s anti-racist rescue of fugitive slaves from racist America. Racism and a culture of hegemonic whiteness were endemic to the early origins of the Canadian state.
Bakan, A. (2008). Reconsidering the underground railroad: Slavery and racialization in the making of the Canadian state. Socialist Studies/Études Socialistes, 4(1).
Reference: http://dx.doi.org/10.18740/S4C59D
EXAMINING THE ASYMMETRY IN JUDGMENTS OF RACISM IN SELF AND OTHERS
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Across three experiments, participants were provided with a list of racist behaviors that purportedly were enacted from a fellow student but in fact were based on the participants’ own behaviors. People consistently evaluated themselves as less racist than this comparison other, even though this other’s racist behaviors were identical to their own. This work sheds insight into why people deny they are racist when they act racist.
Angela C. Bell, Melissa Burkley & Jarrod Bock (2018) Examining the asymmetry in judgments of racism in self and others, The Journal of Social Psychology,DOI: 10.1080/00224545.2018.1538930
PUBLIC HEALTH’S APPROACH TO SYSTEMIC RACISM: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW
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The purpose of this systematic literature review is to analyze the extent to which public health currently addresses systemic racism in the published literature. Across numerous articles, the terms racism and systemic racism are largely absent. A critical need exists for an examination of the historical impact of systemic racism on the social determinants of health and health of marginalized populations.
Castle, B., Wendel, M., Kerr, J. et al. J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (2019) 6: 27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-018-0494-x
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-018-0494-x
BEYOND BLACK AND WHITE: AN ANALYSIS OF NEWSPAPER REPRESENTATIONS OF ALLEGED CRIMINAL OFFENDERS BASED ON RACE AND ETHNICITY
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The purpose of this study is to identify how minorities are portrayed in print media as compared to their White counterparts. Findings reveal minorities are not only overrepresented in crime story images, but closer examination uncovers nuanced differences in the type and quality of pictures by race and ethnicity.
Colburn, A., & Melander, L. A. (2018). Beyond Black and White: An Analysis of Newspaper Representations of Alleged Criminal Offenders Based on Race and Ethnicity. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 34(4), 383–398. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986218787730
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1043986218787730
IS SOCIAL WORK STILL RACIST? A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF RECENT LITERATURE
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Addressing systems of oppression that disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minoritized groups appears to be of marginal interest in social work’s professional literature. This article describes the content analysis of articles on Asian Pacific Islander (API) Americans, African Americans, Latinx or Hispanic Americans, and Native or Indigenous Americans in four major social work journals published between 2005 and 2015. Of the 1,690 articles published in Child Welfare, Research on Social Work Practice, Social Service Review, and Social Work over an 11-year period, only 123 met the criteria for inclusion. Findings suggest that social work researchers are still failing to address institutional racism and are relying heavily on micro-level interventions when working with minoritized groups. Social workers need to increase efforts to dismantle institutional racism.
Nicole A Corley, Stephen M Young; Is Social Work Still Racist? A Content Analysis of Recent Literature, Social Work, Volume 63, Issue 4, 1 October 2018, Pages 317–326, https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swy042
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/swy042
EVERYDAY DISCRIMINATION IN CANADA: PREVALENCE AND PATTERNS
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Using nationally representative data from the 2013 Canadian Community Health Survey, this article examines the prevalence and patterning of self-reported everyday discrimination in Canada. Blacks, Asians, and Aboriginals report particularly high levels of racial discrimination. There is strong evidence of the persistence of everyday discrimination in Canada, across multiple social groups, despite legal protections for marginalized groups.
Godley, J. (2018). Everyday Discrimination in Canada: Prevalence and Patterns. Canadian Journal of Sociology, 43(2), 111-142.
See: https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/cjs/index.php/CJS/article/view/29346
MEASURING INEQUITY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF METHODS USED TO QUANTIFY STRUCTURAL RACISM
The purpose of study was to summarize the ways in which researchers have quantified measures of structural racism for the purposes of empirical, quantitative investigation of its associations with physical and mental health outcomes. Methods: Systematic review of literature published January 1, 2007-June 30, 2017. A burgeoning body of work suggest ways to operationalize and measure structural racism in US society for the purposes of exploring its impacts on individual and population health inequities.
Groos, M., Wallace, M., Hardeman, R., & Theall, K. P. (2018). Measuring inequity: a systematic review of methods used to quantify structural racism. Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice, 11(2), 13.
Reference: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/jhdrp/vol11/iss2/13/
RACIALIZATION, SILENCES AND THE NEGOTIATION OF POWER WITHIN CHILD WELFARE INSTITUTIONS IN ONTARIO
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This paper examines the employment experiences of racialized social workers, many of whom were immigrants, in Ontario in recent years. The major findings are that negotiating power relations is a complex process and includes experiences of tensions and awkward silences due to the sensitivity of the topic of race. The paper concludes that in moving forward constructively it is imperative to engage in difficult but crucial conversations that can contribute to the identification of ways to address tensions and awkward silences on matters of race in the context of social work, as well as in other contexts.
Kikulwe, D. (2016). Racialization, Silences and the Negotiation of Power Within Child Welfare Institutions in Ontario. Canadian Ethnic Studies 48(3), 109-127. Canadian Ethnic Studies Association. Retrieved March 1, 2019, from Project MUSE database.
Reference: http://doi.org/10.1353/ces.2016.0028
EXCAVATING NEW CONSTRUCTS FOR FAMILY STRESS THEORIES IN THE CONTEXT OF EVERYDAY LIFE EXPERIENCES OF BLACK AMERICAN FAMILIES
Much of what happens inside Black families involves spillover effects and consequences of macro‐level stressors. Racism is a major stressor that cascades through Black families’ lives, with detrimental consequences for their everyday life experiences. To understand ways in which Black families successfully navigate social, environment, and cultural pressures and constraints, the authors sought to gain insight into these processes by conducting a systematic, deep excavation, in order to (a) critically examine the adequacy and accuracy of traditional frameworks used to study stress in Black American families, (b) determine whether the studies of stress in Black families in the era of the first Black family in the White House stimulated new areas of research, and (c) advance the field of stress research in general and for Black Americans, in particular, by proposing a heuristic model anchored in a historical, contextual, life‐span perspective, with emphasis on culturally specific strengths‐based coping adaptation.
Murry, V. M., Butler‐Barnes, S. T., Mayo‐Gamble, T. L. and Inniss‐Thompson, M. N. (2018), Excavating New Constructs for Family Stress Theories in the Context of Everyday Life Experiences of Black American Families. J Fam Theory Rev, 10: 384-405. doi:10.1111/jftr.12256
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12256
Intergrative Model for the Study of Stress in Black American Families
MOTHERHOOD IN LIMINAL SPACES: WHITE MOTHERS’ PARENTING BLACK/WHITE CHILDREN
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This study used focus group interviews analyzed through a feminist lens to understand the experiences of a diverse group of white women parenting their biological Black/white biracial children. The findings suggest that having children locates them in a liminal space between whiteness and Blackness. Many face racism from their families and communities, which they are unprepared for, given their upbringing as white Americans. Yet despite these experiences, many still practice color-blind perspective in socializing their children.
Rauktis, M. E., Fusco, R. A., Goodkind, S., & Bradley-King, C. (2016). Motherhood in Liminal Spaces: White Mothers’ Parenting Black/White Children. Affilia, 31(4), 434–449. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109916630581
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0886109916630581
VIOLENT VICTIMIZATION AND DISCRIMINATION AMONG VISIBLE MINORITY POPULATIONS, CANADA, 2014
Among the visible minority population, those who identified as Arab and Black were most likely to report experiencing discrimination.
Simpson, Laura. 2018. “Violent Victimization and Discrimination Among Visible Minority Populations, Canada, 2014.” Juristat. Statistics Canada catalogue no. 85-002-X
Reference: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2018001/article/54913-eng.htm
ALLIES, ACCOMPLICES, OR TROUBLEMAKERS: BLACK FAMILIES AND SCHOLAR ACTIVISTS WORKING FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE IN A RACE-CONSCIOUS PARENT ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM
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The study seeks to document and examine the experiences of Black parents and activist scholars engaged in a three year a race-conscious form of parent engagement. This work seeks to disrupt the overwhelming disciplining of Black students who are positioned by teachers and other school staff as ‘undesirable’ and ‘disposable.’ Using a lens of anti-blackness, this critical ethnographic work examines the resistance faced by the scholar activist and Black parents as they challenge the disproportionate disciplinary practices in the school district.
Yull, D. G., & Wilson, M. A. F. (2018). Allies, accomplices, or troublemakers: Black families and scholar activists working for social justice in a race-conscious parent engagement program. Critical Education, 9(8), 1-18. Retrieved from http://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/criticaled/article/view/186343
Reference: http://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/criticaled/article/view/186343
SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS WHITE SUPREMACY, ANTI-BLACK RACISM, SYSTEMIC RACISM, AND BIAS
PATIENT PERSPECTIVES ON RACIAL AND ETHNIC IMPLICIT BIAS IN CLINICAL ENCOUNTERS: IMPLICATIONS FOR CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT
Patients describe feelings of bias and prejudice in clinical encounters; however, their perspectives on restoring the encounter once bias is perceived are not known. This study explores patients’ perceptions of bias, and suggestions for restoring relationships if bias is perceived. The theory emerging from the analysis suggests if bias is perceived, the outcome of the encounter can still be positive. A positive or negative outcome depends on whether the physician acknowledges this perceived bias or not, and his or her subsequent actions.
Gonzalez, C. M., Deno, M. L., Kintzer, E., Marantz, P. R., Lypson, M. L., & McKee, M. D. (2018). Patient perspectives on racial and ethnic implicit bias in clinical encounters: Implications for curriculum development. Patient education and counseling, 101(9), 1669-1675.
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2018.05.016
QUANTCRIT: EDUCATION, POLICY, ‘BIG DATA’ AND PRINCIPLES FOR A CRITICAL RACE THEORY OF STATISTICS
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The first part of the paper presents a conceptual critique of the field of quantitative research with empirical examples that expose and challenge hidden assumptions that frequently encode racist perspectives beneath the façade of supposed quantitative objectivity. The second part of the paper draws on the tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) to set out some principles to guide the future use and analysis of quantitative data. These ‘QuantCrit’ ideas concern (1) the centrality of racism as a complex and deeply rooted aspect of society that is not readily amenable to quantification; (2) numbers are not neutral and should be interrogated for their role in promoting deficit analyses that serve White racial interests; (3) categories are neither ‘natural’ nor given and so the units and forms of analysis must be critically evaluated; (4) voice and insight are vital: data cannot ‘speak for itself’ and critical analyses should be informed by the experiential knowledge of marginalized groups; (5) statistical analyses have no inherent value but can play a role in struggles for social justice.
David Gillborn, Paul Warmington & Sean Demack (2018) QuantCrit: education, policy, ‘Big Data’ and principles for a critical race theory of statistics, Race Ethnicity and Education, 21:2, 158-179, DOI: 10.1080/13613324.2017.1377417
THE NUMBERS DON’T SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES: RACIAL DISPARITIES AND THE PERSISTENCE OF INEQUALITY IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
The authors argue that bringing to mind racial disparities can trigger fear and stereotypic associations linking Blacks with crime. Therefore, rather than extending an invitation to reexamine the criminal justice system, the statistics about disparities may instead provide an opportunity to justify and rationalize the disparities found within that system. With the goals of spurring future research and mitigating this paradoxical and unintended effect, the authors propose three potential strategies for more effectively presenting information about racial disparities: (a) offer context, (b) challenge associations, and (c) highlight institutions.
Hetey, R. C., & Eberhardt, J. L. (2018). The Numbers Don’t Speak for Themselves: Racial Disparities and the Persistence of Inequality in the Criminal Justice System. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 27(3), 183–187. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721418763931
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0963721418763931
TALK IT (RACISM) OUT: RACE TALK AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING
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The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether race-specific language use can advance organizational learning about the racialized nature of school problems. This paper substantiates that race-specific language is beneficial for organizational learning. Prioritizing actions that promote race-specific conversations among school teams can reveal racism/racial conflict and subsequently increase the potential for change.
Decoteau J. Irby, Shannon P. Clark, (2018) “Talk it (Racism) out: race talk and organizational learning”, Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 56 Issue: 5, pp.504-518, https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-01-2018-0015
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-01-2018-0015
INDIVIDUAL AND SYSTEMIC/STRUCTURAL BIAS IN CHILD WELFARE DECISION MAKING: IMPLICATIONS FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES OF COLOR
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This qualitative study used focus groups to engage child welfare and collaborating system decision makers, community partners, and families in a subjective interpretive analysis of racial disproportionality and disparity. Thematic analysis yielded eleven themes from the participant focus groups, four of which clustered around individual and structural/systemic bias and are examined in this paper: visibility bias; cultural bias and insensitivity; personal influences on determination of minimally adequate care; and foster and adoptive parent recruitment and licensing practices. Participants offered recommendations to improve outcomes for children and families of color in light of these observations: increase awareness of bias, create checks and balances in decision-making, contract with and hire culturally and racially diverse professionals, and increase funding for training.
Miller, K. M., Cahn, K., Anderson-Nathe, B., Cause, A. G., & Bender, R. (2013). Individual and systemic/structural bias in child welfare decision making: Implications for children and families of color. Children and Youth Services Review, 35(9), 1634-1642.
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.07.002
POLICY INSIGHTS FROM ADVANCES IN IMPLICIT BIAS RESEARCH
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Implicit bias, which refers to mental associations that can lead to unintentional discrimination, has become a focus as many organizations and institutions try to reduce disparities and increase inclusiveness. Many forms of implicit bias training are aimed at changing individuals’ implicit biases. This approach treats implicit bias as a trait-like attribute of the person. Recent theoretical advances in understanding implicit bias, however, suggest that implicit bias may not be a stable attribute of individuals. Instead, implicit bias may better characterize social environments than people. Understanding implicit bias as a cultural phenomenon, rather than a fixed set of beliefs, has important policy implications. Most notably, the best approaches for reducing the harm of implicit bias should aim at changing social contexts rather than changing people’s minds. Here, we highlight some considerations of this new understanding of implicit bias for policy makers aiming to reduce disparities and increase inclusion.
Keith Payne, B., & Vuletich, H. A. (2018). Policy Insights From Advances in Implicit Bias Research. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 5(1), 49–56. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732217746190
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1177%2F2372732217746190
A CASE STUDY IN PUBLIC CHILD WELFARE: COUNTY-LEVEL PRACTICES THAT ADDRESS RACIAL DISPARITY IN FOSTER CARE PLACEMENT
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The authors of this article conducted a case study of two counties in New York State that have steadily decreased the number of Black children in foster care in an effort to identify what aspects of their child welfare practice impacted the decline. Some of the most salient themes found included preventive services and resources, community collaborations, case practice development, family meetings, workforce diversity, the court system, and, the most unique, blind removal meetings. The themes found in this study present promising practices to assist in decreasing the racial disparity in child welfare removal decisions.
Jessica Pryce, Wonhyung Lee, Elizabeth Crowe, Daejun Park, Mary McCarthy & Greg Owens (2019) A case study in public child welfare: county-level practices that address racial disparity in foster care placement, Journal of Public Child Welfare, 13:1, 35-59, DOI: 10.1080/15548732.2018.1467354
WHEN GOOD INTENTIONS ONLY GO SO FAR: WHITE PRINCIPALS LEADING DISCUSSIONS ABOUT RACE
This cross-case case study explores how two White principals took the first steps to engage in racial conversations. Using the constructs of race consciousness and antiracism, race neutrality, and resistance to racial dialogue to frame our findings, we illustrate how both principals broached the topic of race with staff members. We demonstrate how the structures of whiteness hindered the principals’ progress toward addressing systemic racial inequities within their respective schools.
Swanson, J., & Welton, A. (2018). When Good Intentions Only Go So Far: White Principals Leading Discussions About Race. Urban Education.
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085918783825https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0042085918783825
Importance of Disaggregated Data
THE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT OF MALTREATED YOUTH INVOLVED WITH THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM: EXPLORING THE INTERSECTION OF RACE AND GENDER
Using an intersectional framework, this study investigated whether race and gender alone or the intersection of race and gender predicted the educational attainment of 429 maltreated youth involved with the U.S. child welfare system. After holding household poverty, maltreatment type and severity, and caregiver education constant, race and gender alone did not predict the likelihood of youth completing their education. However, when analyzing educational attainment based on the intersection of race and gender, Black males were significantly less likely to complete their education than White males, White females, and Hispanic females. These results highlight the prevalence of educational gaps for Black males who are victims of maltreatment and illustrates the importance of using an intersectional lens in maltreatment research and practice to identify such vulnerabilities.
Cage, J., Corley, N. A., & Harris, L. A. (2018). The educational attainment of maltreated youth involved with the child welfare system: Exploring the intersection of race and gender. Children and Youth Services Review, 88, 550-557.
ARE THE BENEFITS OF ECONOMIC RESOURCES FOR SOCIOEMOTIONAL FUNCTIONING SHARED ACROSS RACIAL/ETHNIC GROUPS?
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Assessed links between family, neighborhood, and school income and adolescent emotional and behavioral functioning. The results found that family income was associated with heightened emotional and behavioral functioning, and school income with improved behavioral functioning for White adolescents, whereas no benefits emerged for Black or Hispanic youth. These patterns highlight diversity in the potential benefits and costs of economic resources, and suggest the need to better specify mechanisms through which economic disparities affect youth from varied backgrounds.
Coley, R.L., Spielvogel, B. & Sims, J. J Youth Adolescence (2018) 47: 2503. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0900-z
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0900-z
A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS OF SCHOOL DISCIPLINE EVENTS AMONG YOUTH IN FOSTER CARE
The current investigation examined the effects of youth and contextual characteristics on school discipline events among 315 youth in foster care. Results revealed that being male, in a higher-grade, and a student of color, living apart from one’s sibling, and school mobility significantly predicted discipline events. These results suggest that gender, race, and disability status cumulatively inform school discipline experienced among youth in foster care.
Kothari, B. H., Godlewski, B., McBeath, B., McGee, M., Waid, J., Lipscomb, S., & Bank, L. (2018). A longitudinal analysis of school discipline events among youth in foster care. Children and Youth Services Review, 93, 117-125.
RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN THE PREVALENCE OF ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES: FINDINGS FROM A LOW-INCOME SAMPLE OF U.S. WOMEN
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Despite great interest in adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), there has been limited research on racial and ethnic differences in their prevalence. This study examined the distribution of ACEs in a sample of 1523 low-income women in Wisconsin that received home visiting services. Total ACE scores of American Indians were comparable to the ACE scores of non-Hispanic whites, which were significantly higher than the ACE scores of non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics. Whites were more likely than Blacks to report any abuse or neglect, and they were more likely than Blacks and Hispanics to report any household dysfunction. The results underscore the need to account for socioeconomic differences when making racial/ethnic comparisons.
Mersky, J. P., & Janczewski, C. E. (2018). Racial and ethnic differences in the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences: Findings from a low-income sample of US women. Child abuse & neglect, 76, 480-487.
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.12.012
AGE-SPECIFIC RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH PLACEMENT INSTABILITY AMONG FOSTER CHILDREN
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The authors investigated two research questions: (1) Which child attributes and case histories are associated with placement disruptions (moves indicative of child, agency or caregiver dissatisfaction with the existing placement)?; and (2) How do associations of child attributes and case histories with placement disruptions vary by developmental stage. Placements with females or Hispanic children were at an increased risk of child-initiated disruption, whereas placements with Black children were more likely to end due to placement mismatch or substandard care reasons. These findings provide researchers, caseworkers, and policymakers important information on the risk factors for placement instability among children in foster care.
Sattler, K. M., Font, S. A., & Gershoff, E. T. (2018). Age-specific risk factors associated with placement instability among foster children. Child abuse & neglect, 84, 157-169.
Reference: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.07.024
THE PENALTY OF BEING A YOUNG BLACK GIRL: KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF CHILDREN’S PROBLEM BEHAVIORS AND STUDENT–TEACHER CONFLICT BY THE INTERSECTION OF RACE AND GENDER
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The term the “female advantage” is commonly used to describe gender inequalities in education, including in early childhood. This study seeks to problematize this idea by including the intersection of children’s race and gender. This article examines race and gender disparities in teachers’ perceptions of children’s problem behaviors and student–teacher conflict, using recent national data on kindergartners. The author finds that teachers’ ratings of past problem behaviors mediate the gap in teachers’ perceptions of current problem behavior and student–teacher conflict between Black girls and White boys. In contrast, non-Black girls retain their “advantage” over White boys. Drawing upon theories of intersectionality, the author discusses the implications of the findings for understanding the unique schooling experiences of Black girls in early childhood.
Calvin Rashaud Zimmermann. (2018). The Penalty of Being a Young Black Girl: Kindergarten Teachers’ Perceptions of Children’s Problem Behaviors and Student–Teacher Conflict by the Intersection of Race and Gender. The Journal of Negro Education, 87(2), 154-168. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7709/jnegroeducation.87.2.0154
Reference: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7709/jnegroeducation.87.2.0154