NCJ Number
241790
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 37 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2013 Pages: 61-76
Date Published
January 2013
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This paper is a continuation of a study that explored the factors contributing to the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in foster care in Canada.
Abstract
Using the 1998 and 2003 dataset from the Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect, this paper analyzes the factors that may contribute to the overrepresentation of Aboriginal children in foster care in Canada. The paper explored four specific issues: the functional link between the proportion of Aboriginal reports as a contextual variable and formal placement; the over-specification of models in the present context of a stratified sampling scheme; a review of the comparability of the two data cycles which can be used to illustrate the specific contribution of a multi-level specification; and the relationship between clinical level variables and agency level variables. Findings from the analyses show that of the seven new organizational variables reviewed in the study (stress, specialization, education, deaths, inquests, high profile cases, and centralization), only education of the agency worker had a significant effect on the likelihood of placement for Aboriginal children. In addition, the proportion of cases involving Aboriginal children was found to be a key second level predictor of the placement decision. Finally, the analysis found that the comparability between the 1998 and the 2003 study was robust, and that the use of a unified database containing both the 1998 and the 2003 clarified the benefits of using multi-level specifications. Study limitations and implications for policy are discussed. Tables, figures, appendix, and references