Disentangling substantiation: The influence of race, income, and risk on the substantiation decision in child welfare
Disentangling substantiation: The influence of race, income, and risk on the substantiation decision in child welfare
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DOI：
10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.04.005
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发表时间：
2011-09-01
影响因子：
3.3
通讯作者：
James, Joyce
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Dettlaff, Alan J.;Rivaux, Stephanie L.;James, Joyce
了解差距的来源发现在决策点沿着儿童福利途径是理解和解决非洲裔美国儿童的代表性过高。虽然研究证明存在差异，但在确定差异背后的解释因素方面不太成功。对审查这些差异的研究的批评表明，贫穷可能是比种族更强的解释因素，但使用儿童福利系统数据包括贫穷措施的分析在很大程度上尚未进行。本研究使用得克萨斯州儿童福利系统的数据，以确定在证实决定的差异的因素。鉴于贫困与虐待儿童之间的关系，分析控制了家庭收入的影响，以及与虐待有关的其他因素，以更好地了解种族对这一决策点的影响。研究结果表明，当家庭收入受到控制，种族是不是一个显着的因素，在证实的决定。然而，当也控制个案工作者的风险观念，种族出现作为更强的解释因素。这不仅表明了种族、收入和风险评估之间的重要关系，而且表明儿童福利制度中的非自愿性是一个复杂的现象，不能用单一因素来解释。这些结果进一步表明，种族偏见对决策的影响仍然是理解非裔美国儿童比例过高的一个重要考虑因素。(C)2011爱思唯尔有限公司保留所有权利。
Understanding the source of disparities found at decision-making points along the child welfare pathway is essential to understanding and addressing the overrepresentation of African American children. Although research has documented the existence of disparities, it has been less successful in identifying the explanatory factors behind them. Critiques of research examining these disparities have suggested that poverty is likely a stronger explanatory factor than race, yet analyses that include measures of poverty using data from child welfare systems have largely not been conducted. This study uses data from the Texas child welfare system to identify the factors contributing to disparities at the substantiation decision. Given the relationship between poverty and child maltreatment, the analyses control for the effect of family income, as well as other factors related to maltreatment, to better understand the effect of race on this decision-making point. Findings indicate that when family income is controlled, race is not a significant factor in the substantiation decision. However, when also controlling for caseworker perceptions of risk, race emerges as the stronger explanatory factor. This suggests not only an important relationship between race, income, and risk assessment, but also that disproportionality in the child welfare system is a complex phenomenon that cannot be explained by a single factor. These results further demonstrate that the effect of racial bias on decision-making remains an important consideration in understanding the overrepresentation of African American children. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.