This text proposes corrective action to improve the institutional care of African American children and their families, calling attention to the specific needs of this population and the historical, social, and political factors that have shaped its experience within the child welfare system. The authors critique policy and research and suggest culturally targeted program and policy responses for more positive outcomes.

This text proposes corrective action to improve the institutional care of African American children and their families, calling attention to the specific needs of this population and the historical, social, and political factors that have shaped its experience within the child welfare system. The authors critique policy and research and suggest culturally targeted program and policy responses for more positive outcomes.

Child Welfare, twenty-one educators call attention to racial disparities in the child welfare system by demonstrating how practices that are successful for white children are often not similarly successful for African American children. Moreover, contributors insist that policymakers and care providers look at African American family life and child development from a culturally-based Africentric perspective. Such a perspective, the book argues, can serve as a catalyst for creativity and innovation in the formulation of policies and practices aimed at improving the welfare of African American children.

This volume examines existing research documenting racial disproportionality and disparities in child welfare systems, the underlying factors that contribute to these phenomena and the harms that result at both the individual and community levels. It reviews multiple forms of interventions designed to prevent and reduce disproportionality, particularly in states and jurisdictions that have seen meaningful change. With contributions from authorities and leaders in the field, this volume serves as the authoritative volume on the complex issue of child maltreatment and child welfare. It offers a central source of information for students and practitioners who are seeking understanding on how structural and institutional racism can be addressed in public systems.

Serving African American Children was initiated to present an African American perspective on child welfare issues affecting African American children. The chapters in this volume challenge the child welfare community to ensure that all African American children receive protection, nurturing, and an improved quality of life; to create and sustain mutual communication and support through program development; to ensure that African American consultants are involved in the evaluation of agencies where African American populations represent a significant proportion of the service population; and to increase African American leadership through education and training opportunities in preparation for executive level positions. Major chapters and contributors to Serving African American Children include: "Family Preservation and Support Services: A Missed Opportunity for Kinship Care" by Julia Danzy and Sondra M. Jackson; "Achieving Same-Race Adoptive Placements for African American Children" by Ruth G. McRoy, Zena Oglesby, and Helen Grape; "African American Families and HIV/AIDS: Caring for Surviving Children" by Alma J. Carten and Ilene Fennoy; "A Rite of Passage Approach Designed to Preserve the Families of Substance-Abusing African American Women" by Vanesta L. Poitier, Makini Niliwaambieni, and Cyprian Lamar Rowe; and "An Afrocentric Program for African American Males in the Juvenile Justice System" by Aminifu R. Harvey and Antoinette A. Coleman. The chapters reflect a variety of policy, research, and practice issues; clinical techniques and treatment models; and new perspectives in child welfare. The theme that runs throughout each chapter is the grave concern about the overrepresentation of African American children and families in the child welfare system, and about the limited if not missing influence of the African American perspective on policy and practice. Serving African American Children is a book of vital importance and should be read by all social workers, sociologists, African American studies specialists, and professionals in the field of child welfare.

"Although African Americans constituted 15% of the child population of the United States in 1999, they accounted for 45% of the children in substitute care. In contrast, white children, who constituted 60% of the U.S. population, accounted for only 36% of the children in out-of-home care. In addition, several studies show that children of different ethnic or racial backgrounds receive dissimilar treatment by the child welfare system, but little is known about the appropriateness of the treatment. This compilation of papers critically examines child welfare policy and practice, the causes of child maltreatment, and how each affects the disproportionate representation of African American children in the system."--BOOK JACKET.