Outcomes following child welfare services: What are they and do they differ for Black children?

Authors

Richard P. Barth, University of Maryland - Baltimore
Melissa Jonson-Reid, Washington University in St. Louis
Johanna K. P. Greeson, University of Pennsylvania
Brett Drake, Washington University in St. Louis
Jill Duerr Berrick, University of California - Berkeley
Antonio R. Garcia, University of Kentucky
Terry V. Shaw, University of Maryland - Baltimore
John GyourkoFollow

Publication Date

2020

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Current calls to end structural racism in the US include proposals to abolish or radically transform child welfare services (CWS). While substantial research finds numerous poor outcomes following maltreatment, the efficacy and acceptability of CWS, particularly for children of color, has long sparked debate. This review summarizes the state of quantitative research across seven domains for children overall and by race with varying degrees of CWS contact. Current research with adequate comparisons provides no robust evidence to support the idea that children have worse outcomes from CWS involvement, but few studies focused on Black children. Implications for research and system change are discussed.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Barth, R., Jonson-Reid, M., Greeson, J. K. P., Drake, B., Berrick, J. D., Garcia, A. R., Shaw, T. V., & Gyourko, J. R. (2020). Outcomes following child welfare services: What are they and do they differ for Black children? Journal of Public Child Welfare, 14(5), 477-499. https://doi.org/10.1080/15548732.2020.1814541