SEATTLE – A county-wide coalition of child welfare and human services organizations today announced findings from its study indicating that children of color in King County are over-represented in the child welfare system and fare worse by all measures than their Caucasian counterparts.
Although children of color are one-third of the child population in King County, they make up more than one-half of all children in foster care in the county.
“Not only are these children coming into the system at a disproportionate rate, but this racial imbalance increases at each step as you progress through the child welfare system,” said Judge Patricia Clark, King County Superior Court, and co-chair of the King County Coalition on Racial Disproportionality. “The deeper you go in the system, the worse it gets.”
The study found that in King County a disproportionate number of African American and Native American families are referred for investigation, resulting in a disproportionate number of these youth being removed from their homes and placed in foster care; and they stay in foster care longer than their Caucasian counterparts.
African American and Native American children together make up eight percent of the child population in King County, but account for:
- 25 percent of the children accepted for investigation once they are referred to Child Protective Services.
- 33 percent of all children removed from their homes and placed in foster care.
- 50 percent of the children still in out-of-home care four years after placement.
As a next step, the coalition is creating the Impact Design Team to develop intervention strategies that can be implemented to ensure the child welfare system is equitable for all children. Like the coalition, the Impact Design Team, will consist of a broad base of organizations. They will begin meeting later this month and are scheduled to report recommended actions to the executive committee in May.
“This is a serious problem, but it’s solvable,” said Clark. “All it takes is commitment and action from those of us who touch the lives of these children. We have to level the playing field and make sure decisions are being made and services are being provided in a fair manner across all ethnic lines so this racial imbalance no longer exists.”
The King County Coalition on Racial Disproportionality consists of representatives from more than 25 broad-based child welfare and human services organizations in King County. The research, which spanned nearly a year, was funded by Casey Family Programs and the Stuart Foundation.
About the Stuart Foundation
The Stuart Foundation's overarching purpose is to help the children and youth of California and Washington states become responsible citizens. It helps strengthen public systems and community supports that contribute to children's development. The Foundation concentrates on the following three areas: strengthening public schools, strengthening the child welfare system, and youth and communities.