Racial disparity in the Ontario child welfare system: Conceptualizing policies and practices that drive involvement for Black families

A critical analysis of the Assessment and Action Record (AAR) documentation: Examining the educational experiences of Black youth-in-care in Ontario

“…This argument is supported by existing literature(Knight & Caveney, 1998;Mohamud et al, 2021) that suggests…”

“…The imbalances are entrenched where structural inequities of ABR exist and manifest, including down to the daily practices of frontline workers with their clients. In their analysis of larger structural and historical contexts that shapes the opportunities and constraints for Black families living in Ontario, Mohamud et al (2021) situated child welfare in a nexus of anti-Black policy and structures to argue that the cumulative burden of navigating and contending with larger systemic forces leave Black families vulnerable to a relatively low threshold for reporting to local child welfare agencies maltreatment concerns and risk of harm. Importantly, the authors argued that seemingly race-neutral eligibility criteria embedded within Ontario child welfare results in disproportionate reporting of Black families (Mohamud et al, 2021).…”

“…These issues include gender, race, class, and disability, along with the under-resourcing of family support, foster care and residential care (Clarke, 2011;. Misunderstandings regarding the cultural or racial practices of Black families living in Canada stemming from implicit biases can consequently lead to encounters with child protection/welfare systems, particularly if the workers do not share a similar social identity with their clients (Bergen & Abji, 2020;Clarke, 2011;Mohamud et al, 2021;Rambally, 1995).…”

“We Were in White Homes as Black Children:” Caribbean Youth’s Stories of Out-of-home Care in Ontario, Canada

“…Some have attributed this to factors associated with poverty (Fallon & Van Wert, 2017;OACAS, 2016;OHRC, 2018), with one in three Black youth in Ontario living in poverty compared to one in five youth overall (Monsebraaten, 2017;ONC2000, 2020. Many have also attributed this overrepresentation to anti-Black racism Antwi-Boasiako et al, 2020;Clarke, 2011;Clarke, 2012;Felix, 2017;Maynard, 2017;Mohamud et al, 2021;Mosher & Hewitt, 2018;OACAS, 2016;OHRC, 2018;Phillips & Pon, 2018;Pon, Gosine & Phillips, 2011). A 2015 report by the Black Community Action Network of Peel Region (BCAN) in Ontario raised concerns over reports of child welfare workers expressing the view that Black children will have "better outcomes in the care of White middle class families" (p. 6).…”

Towards Substantive Action: Naming and Overcoming Institutional Barriers to Confronting Anti-Black Racism in Public Education

“…Existing academic literature about anti-Black racism and public education is dominated by a narrow focus on proving that anti-Black racism exists; typically through qualitative studies into the experiences of Black students or quantitative studies into key indicators of student success such as rates of graduation, enrollment in academic courses, and suspension and expulsions McBean, 2018;Turner 2017;Ottawa Carleton District School Board, 2020;Mohamud, 2021;McPherson, 2021). These studies have led to the development of policy recommendations that acknowledge anti-Black racism, but I would argue that the marginalization of rigorous and critical examination of the institutional environment in which these policies are to be implemented has reduced the effectiveness of such policies and has contributed to the persistence of anti-Black racism in the public education system.…”