The Effects of Socioeconomic Contextual Factors on Racial Differences in CFSR-3 Permanency Outcomes

Abstract

We examined the role of state and county socioeconomic contextual characteristics in explaining Black-White child differences in permanency within one year of foster care entry. We estimated race-specific hierarchical linear models consisting of individual-level demographic and case characteristics of children, state and county socioeconomic contextual factors, and CFSR-3 performance-improvement plans. Findings showed that socioeconomic contextual characteristics were significantly associated with permanency for Black and White children in different ways. Rises in per capita income increased permanency for Black and White children. Conversely, increases in unemployment and SNAP recipiency decreased permanency for Black and White children. Expansions in public welfare benefits for children in female headed households increased permanency for White children but decreased permanency for Black children. County variation in effects and the permanency gap between White and Black children imply the need for further race-specific research on the efficacy of localized, cross-system responses that address socioeconomic conditions.

Keywords

CFSR disproportionality disparity permanency socioeconomic contextual characteristics county-level analyses

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Administration for Children and Families (ACF) . (2022). CFSR portal. JBS International, Inc. https://www.cfsrportal.acf.hhs.gov/.

Ards

S. D.

Myers

S. L.

Jr Ray

Kim

Monroe

Arteaga

(2003). Racialized perceptions and child neglect. Children & Youth Services Review, 34(8), 1480–1491. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.03.018

Assistant Secretary Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) . (2001). Evaluation of family preservation and reunification programs: Final report. ASPE. https://aspe.hhs.gov/evaluation-family-preservation-reunification-programs-final-report

Bell

Jones

Fairbrother

(2018). Understanding and misunderstanding group mean centering: a commentary on Kelley et al.’s dangerous practice. Quality and Quantity, 52(5), 2031–2036. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-017-0593-5

Bell

S. B.

Farr

Ofosu

Hehman

DeWall

C. N.

(2021). Implicit bias predicts less willingness and less frequent adoption of Black children more than explicit bias. The Journal of Social Psychology, 163(4), 554–565. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2021.1975619

Brincks

A. M.

Enders

C. K.

Llabre

M. M.

Bulotsky-Shearer

R. J.

Prado

Feaster

D. J.

(2017). Centering predictor variables in three-level contextual models. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 52(2), 149–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/00273171.2016.1256753

Cheng

T. C.

C. C.

(2012). Racial disparities in access to needed child welfare services and worker–client engagement. Children and Youth Services Review, 34(9), 1624–1632. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.04.021

Children’s Bureau . (2017). AFCARS foster care file, 6-month periods (FY2010A - 2016B). https://doi.org/10.34681/STYD-Z974

Children’s Bureau . (2020). Child and family services reviews aggregate report: Round 3: Fiscal years 2015–2018. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/cfsr_aggregate_report_2020.pdf

10.

Children’s Bureau . (2021a). CFSR round 3 report for legal and judicial communities. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau. https://www.cfsrportal.acf.hhs.gov/resources/round-3-resources/cfsr-round-3-findings.

11.

Children’s Bureau . (2021b). CFSR technical bulletin #13. Available at: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/archive/cb/training-technical-assistance/cfsr-technical-bulletin-13

12.

Children’s Bureau . (2022). Assessing systemic factor functioning using data and evidence. https://www.cfsrportal.acf.hhs.gov/resources/round-4-resources/statewide-assessment-swa-and-guidance/assessing-systemic-factor

13.

Children’s Bureau . (2023). AFCARS foster care file, 6-month periods (FY2016A - 2022B). https://doi.org/10.34681/yjxr-zz92

14.

Children’s Bureau . (2024a). Addressing disproportionality, disparity, and equity throughout child welfare. Children’s Bureau. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/focus-areas/equity

15.

Children’s Bureau . (2024b). Advancing equity and inclusion through the child and family services reviews. CFSR Portal. Retrieved from: https://www.cfsrportal.acf.hhs.gov/announcements/new-resource-advancing-equity-and-inclusion-through-cfsrs

16.

Child Welfare Information Gateway . (2011a). Addressing racial disproportionality in child welfare. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau.

17.

Child Welfare Information Gateway . (2011b). Family reunification: What the evidence shows. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau.

18.

Cho

Harlin

Ihm

Lee

C. H.

(2023). Event history analysis on racial disparities in the path to adoption for black and white children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 141(July 2023), Article 106231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106231

19.

Cohen

(1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 155–159. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.112.1.155

20.

Connell

C. M.

Katz

K. H.

Saunders

Tebes

J. K.

(2006). Leaving foster care--The influence of child and case characteristics on foster care exit rates. Children and Youth Services Review, 28(7), 780–798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2005.08.007

21.

Department of Health & Human Services and Administration for Children & Families . (2023). The AFCARS report: Preliminary FY 2022 estimates as of May 9, 2023 - no. 30. Department of Health & Human Services.

22.

Dettlaff

Johnson-Motoyama

Mariscal

E. S.

(2014). Latino children and families. In Fong

Dettlaff

James

Rodriguez

(Eds.), Addressing racial disproportionality and disparities in human services (pp. 70–105). Columbia University Press.

23.

Drake

Jones

Kim

Gyourko

Garcia

Barth

R. P.

Font

S. A.

Putnam-Hornstein

Duerr Berrick

Greeson

J. K. P.

Cook

Kohl

P. L.

Jonson-Reid

(2023). Racial/ethnic differences in child protective services reporting, substantiation and placement, with comparison to non-CPS risks and outcomes, 2005-2019. Child Maltreatment, 28(4), 683–699. https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595231167320

24.

Dunbar

Barth

R. P.

(2007). Racial disproportionality, race disparity, and other race-related findings in published works derived from the national Survey of child and adolescent well-being. Case Family Programs.

25.

Ellis

P. D.

(2010). The essential guide to effect sizes: Statistical power, meta-analysis, and the interpretation of research results. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511761676

26.

Fluke

J. D.

Harden

B. J.

Jenkins

Reuhrdanz

(2011). Disparities and disproportionality in child welfare: Analysis of the research. https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/15376/Casey_Disparities_ChildWelfare.pdf?sequence=5

27.

Jones

Kim

Jonson-Reid

Drake

(2022). Testing a QuantCrit-informed approach to the empirical study of race/ ethnicity and child maltreatment. Child Maltreatment, 28(4), 589–598. https://doi.org/10.1177/10775595221130076

28.

Kang

Romich

J. L.

Hook

J. L.

Lee

J. S.

Marcenko

(2016). Dual-system families: Cash assistance sequences of households involved with child welfare. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 10(4), 352–375. https://doi.org/10.1080/15548732.2016.1205542

29.

Kim

Drake

(2018). Child maltreatment risk as a function of poverty and race/ethnicity in the USA. International Journal of Epidemiology, 47(3), 780–787. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyx280

30.

LaBrenz

C. A.

Findley

Graaf

Baiden

Kim

Choi

M. J.

Chakravarty

(2021). Racial/ethnic disproportionality in reunification across U.S. child welfare systems. Child Abuse & Neglect, 14(April 2021), Article 104894. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104894

31.

LaBrenz

C. A.

Jenkins

Huang

Ryan

S. D.

Panisch

L. S.

Kim

Baiden

(2023). State-level policies and reunification: A multi-level survival analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect, 146(December 2023), Article 106502. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106502

32.

LaBrenz

C. A.

Lloyd Sieger

Choi

M. J.

Harrell

D. R.

Findley

Robinson

E. D.

Baiden

(2023). Family support services and reunification across diverse racial/ethnic groups: A survival analysis utilizing administrative child welfare data. Children and Youth Services Review, 150(July 2023), Article 107024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.107024

33.

Lloyd

M. H.

(2018). Poverty and family reunification for mothers with substance use disorders in child welfare. Child Abuse Review, 27(4), 301–316. https://doi.org/10.1002/car.2519

34.

Lloyd Sieger

M. H.

(2020). Reunification for young children of color with substance removals: An intersectional analysis of longitudinal national data. Child Abuse & Neglect, 108(October 2020), Article 104664. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104664

35.

Lloyd Sieger

M. H.

(2021). Foster care factors and permanency for children with substance-related removals. Families in Society, 102(1), 91–103. https://doi.org/10.1177/1044389420947225

36.

Maguire-Jack

Font

S. A.

(2017). Intersections of individual and neighborhood disadvantage: Implications for child maltreatment. Children and Youth Services Review, 72(January 2017), 44–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.10.015

37.

Maguire-Jack

Font

S. A.

Dillard

(2020). Child protective services decision-making: The role of children’s race and county factors. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 90(1), 48–62. https://doi.org/10.1037/ort0000388

38.

Maguire-Jack

Lanier

Johnson-Motoyama

Welch

Dineen

(2015). Geographic variation in racial disparities in child maltreatment: The influence of county poverty and population density. Child Abuse & Neglect, 47(September 2015), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.05.020

39.

Massey

D. S.

Denton

(1993). American apartheid: Segregation and the making of the underclass. Harvard University Press.

40.

National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN) . (2022). AFCARS foster care 6-month file codebook. https://www.ndacan.acf.hhs.gov/datasets/pdfs_user_guides/afcars-foster-care-6-month-file-codebook.pdf

41.

Osterling

K. L.

Lee

P. A.

Hines

A. H.

(2012). The influence of family reunification services on racial/ethnic disparities in permanency outcomes for children in the child welfare system. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 6(3), 330–354. https://doi.org/10.1080/15548732.2012.683372

42.

Pebley

A. R.

Rudkin

L. L.

(2000). Grandparents caring for grandchildren: What do we know? RAND Corporation. https://doi.org/10.7249/RB5030

43.

Puls

H. T.

Hall

Boyd

Chung

P. J.

(2024). Public benefit programs and differential associations with child maltreatment by race and ethnicity. JAMA Pediatrics, 178(2), 185–192. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.5521

44.

Putnam-Hornstein

Shaw

T. V.

(2011). Foster care reunification: An exploration of non-linear hierarchical modeling. Children & Youth Services Review, 33(5), 705–714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.11.010

45.

Raftery

A. E.

(1995). Bayesian model selection in social research. Sociological Methodology, 25(4), 111–163. https://doi.org/10.2307/271063

46.

Raudenbush

S. W.

Bryk

A. S.

(2002) Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods (Vol. 1). Sage Publications.

47.

Sabol

W. J.

Myers

S. L.

Jr Molinet

(2022). Racial differences in female imprisonment and foster care. In Krysik

Rodriguez

(Eds.), Children of incarcerated parents: Integrating research into best practices and policy (pp. 89–120). Springer.

48.

Sampson

Morenoff

Raudenbush

(2005). Social anatomy of racial and ethnic disparities in violence. American Journal of Public Health, 95(2), 224–232. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2004.037705

49.

Sampson

R. J.

Neil

(2024). The social foundations of racial inequalities in arrest over the life course and in changing times. Criminology, 62(2), 177–204. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12374

50.

Sampson

R. J.

Wilson

W. J.

(1995). Toward a theory of race, crime, and urban inequality. In Hagan

Peterson

R. D.

(Eds.), Crime and inequality (pp. 37–56). Stanford University Press.

51.

Smith

B. D.

Kay

E. S.

Womack

B. G.

(2017). How can county-level maltreatment report rates better inform child welfare practice? Children and Youth Services Review, 79(August 2017), 341–347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.06.045

52.

Smith

B. D.

Wang

(2021). Examining child maltreatment reports using linked county-level data. Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children & Families.

53.

Snijders

T. A. B.

Bosker

R. J.

(2012). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling (2nd ed.). Sage Publishers.

54.

StataCorp . (2023). Stata statistical software: Release 18. StataCorp LLC.

55.

Tilbury

Thoburn

(2009). Using racial disproportionality and disparity indicators to measure child welfare outcomes. Children and Youth Services Review, 31(10), 1101–1106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2009.07.004

56.

U. S. Census Bureau . (2021). About annual survey of state and local government finances. Retrieved from: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/gov-finances/about.html

57.

U. S. Census Bureau . (2023). About the American community survey. Retrieved from: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about.html

58.

U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) . (2003). Foster care: States focusing on finding permanent homes for children, but long-standing barriers remain. Retrieved from: https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-03-626t.pdf

59.

Wittenstrom

Baumann

D. J.

Fluke

Graham

J. C.

James

(2015). The impact of drugs, infants, single mothers, and relatives on reunification: A decision-making ecology approach. Child Abuse & Neglect, 49(November 2015), 86–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.06.010

60.

Wulczyn

Gibbons

Snowden

Lery

(2013). Poverty, social disadvantage, and the black/white placement gap black/white placement gap. Children and Youth Services Review, 35(1), 65–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.10.005

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

1.12 MB