NCJ Number
204313
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 25 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2001 Pages: 215-229
Editor(s)
Richard D. Krugman,
John M. Leventhal
Date Published
February 2001
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This article focuses on the path to adoption for children involved in the public child welfare system.
Abstract
For children involved in the public child welfare system, the path to adoption typically begins with exposure to child abuse or neglect in the biological family leading to a report to child protective services, removal from the home and placement in foster care, a failure to reunify with the biological family, termination of parental rights and finally, placement with an adoptive family. For children of color, they have historically been over-represented in many phases of this path. This paper summarizes data describing the role of race at each of these steps and presents special analyses of adoption trends for children of color in Kansas. The data source for the analyses was the Kansas Families for Kids (KFFK) CARE database, a child-tracking database. There were 1,550 cases in the CARE database that were identified as having adoption as a goal as of December 31, 1997. The cases were divided into 3 groups describing primary racial/ethnic identity: White, not of Hispanic origin (59 percent, n=919); Black, not of Hispanic origin (32 percent, n=500); and children of other racial/ethnic origin (8 percent, n=131). A comparison across the three groups found no significant differences regarding gender, age at time of report, age at time of referral to contract, or age at legalization of adoption. During the referral stage, the groups did differ with regard to whether or not siblings were referred for adoption. A statistically significant relationship was found between the child’s race/ethnicity and whether the mother lost custody of the child due to death, relinquishment of parental rights, or termination of parental rights. In addition, statistically significant differences were also noted in a comparison of average number of days from the earliest parental rights termination to referral for adoption. During the adoption process the child’s relationship to the family they had been matched with for adoption (relative, foster family, or new family) and the child’s race/ethnicity was found to be statistically significant. In adoption outcomes, the analysis found that Black children took over 1 month longer to reach an adoptive placement than either other children of color or White children. This research shows that Blacks are over-represented at various phases of the adoption process and that it takes longer for them to progress through the system. Additional research in other States would help to establish whether the trends in over-representation and service lags are specific to Kansas. Future research should also focus more specifically on the reasons why Black children are subjected to differential treatment in the adoption process. References, figures, and tables