Child Welfare Placements and Disproportionate Minority Contact in Juvenile Justice
Principal Investigator
Dr. Joseph P. Ryan, Ph.D.
Children and Family Research Center
School of Social Work
University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign
Summary
Rationale
The findings from the maltreatment — delinquency literature are clear and consistent. Victims of physical abuse and neglect are at an increased risk of involvement with the juvenile justice system. This is especially true for African American youth in the child welfare system as their odds of experiencing at least one arrest are approximately two times greater than white adolescents in the child welfare system. Given the problem of overrepresentation in the child welfare system, the increased risk associated with African American youth is most certainly contributing to disproportionate minority contact (DMC) in juvenile justice. A central question that remains however is what factors or mechanisms are responsible for this increased risk? In the broader delinquency literature, scholars, practitioners, and policy makers have long identified economic status, family structure, and neighborhood conditions as factors that help explain racial disparities in offending. But given that adolescents from different racial and ethnic groups involved with child protection come from fairly similar backgrounds (e.g. high rates of poverty, high risk neighborhoods, complex family problems) it is surprising that African American adolescents within the child welfare system continue to enter the juvenile justice system at such high rates.
Purpose for the Research
The primary objective of the proposed research is to determine whether the placement patterns more commonly associated with African Americans in child welfare in some way contribute to the increased risk of arrest and thus contribute to DMC in juvenile justice. It is well documented that African American youth are more likely to enter the child welfare system, remain in the child welfare system for significantly longer periods of time, and experience great instability. It is also well documented that African American youth experience different placements in child welfare. An important question to consider then is whether or not such variations in placement contribute to the likelihood of juvenile justice involvement and DMC. We focus specifically on group home placements and kinship care arrangements because such placements are often utilized more often with African American youth and are associated with characteristics that may increase the likelihood of juvenile delinquency.
If in fact group homes or kinship care arrangements increase juvenile justice involvement (all other factors being equal), an important next step for state and county administrators is to determine how placement decisions are made, and why these particular placements increase the risk of delinquency. Are the policies or practices related to when staff can and should engage law enforcement different for group homes as compared with foster family settings? This would not be entirely surprising as the threshold for contacting law enforcement to resolve individual disputes in group homes was found to be lower in other states and even between social service agencies within the same state. Is delinquency more likely to emerge in kinship care arrangements because of service disparities? Such a finding would suggest that DMC in juvenile justice could be significantly reduced by addressing some of the service related differences between kin and non kin settings in child welfare. And if placement types contribute to judicial decisions making (e.g. probation vs. correctional placement), understanding why is important. Are there misperceptions about kinship care arrangements with regard to safety, child well-being, and the ability to provide adequate supervision?
Study Methodology
The current proposal represents a partnership and emerged from discussions with the Lead Entities, agency administrators, and key stakeholders in the Models for Change states. The proposed studies will utilize administrative records. As there are no common unique identifiers (e.g. social security number) that link child welfare and juvenile justice/probation records, the records will be matched using probabilistic matching software. We will use a variety of sophisticated statistical techniques including propensity score matching to account for selection effects and bias when comparing outcomes for each placement group (e.g. group homes vs. foster care). The outcomes of primary interest are initial involvement with juvenile justice (e.g. arrest), and judicial dispositions (e.g. case dismissal, probation).
What are the benefits to participating?
The proposed research will make a significant and unique contribution to the literature and knowledge base by focusing specific attention on child welfare policies and practices (related to placement) that may unintentionally contribute to DMC in juvenile justice. Moreover, the findings from the proposed research will help inform the larger discussions and efforts focused on the integration of child welfare and juvenile justice systems in the Models for Change states.