Shattered Bonds: The Color of Child Welfare

Public and private families: a comparative thematic analysis of the intersections of social norms and scrutiny

“…Factors such as diversity in class, race, (dis)ability and religion will likely add complexity to the ways in which modes of family formation are understood (Green et al, 2005;Roberts, 2002). For example, whilst foster families appear to be subject to intense scrutiny, this is a corollary of the intense scrutiny that has already been given to birth families who are deemed unable to care for their children.…”

The ethics of predictive risk modelling in the Aotearoa/New Zealand child welfare context: Child abuse prevention or neo-liberal tool?

“…Munro (2007b), for example, notes that too much information sharing too quickly can lead to excessively intrusive and conservative reactions, oppressive interventions that are extremely stressful for families, close down more supportive and engaging options for struggling families, and more importantly, do not improve the lives of children involved. Research in the US shows that the brunt of such an investigatory 'over-reach' is primarily borne by those who are poor, brown, single women (Roberts, 2002), and despite its empirical base (or perhaps because of it) a PRM is likely to reproduce this pattern here (see below).…”

Immediate Response: Addressing Anti-Native and Anti-Black Racism in Child Welfare

“…While some scholars argue that colonialism and racism explain this overrepresentation Chand, 2000;Clarke, 2010;Dumbrill, 2003;Gosine & Pon, 2010;Roberts, 2002), others assert that there is no compelling evidence that race alone contributes substantially to child welfare decision making (Barth, Miller, Green, & Baumgartner, 2001). Barth et al (2001) argue that the disproportionality of African-Americans involved with child welfare services is linked to African-American children being at higher risk for needing child protection services, especially in light of high incarceration and death rates associated with AfricanAmericans.…”