Casey Family Programs is working continually to bring national attention to the issue of the overrepresentation of children of color in the child welfare system.
We started with our own organization, asking ourselves difficult questions and taking a long look at our policies and procedures.
For example, Casey requires every new employee to participate in a workshop on recognizing and overcoming institutional racism. Casey also facilitates ongoing conversations among employees about race, class, culture, and privilege.
Casey Alliance for Racial Equity (CARE)
The dialogue continues with other partners in child welfare. CARE, the Casey Alliance for Racial Equity, is a unified effort of the five related Casey foundations—Casey Family Programs, the Marguerite Casey Foundation, Casey Family Services, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, and Center for the Study of Social Policy.
CARE's goal is to create a child welfare system free of structural racism, and that benefits all children and families.
Listening to young people who have experienced foster care
We authenticate our efforts by listening to the voices of those experienced with the system. At annual retreats for young men and young women of color, Casey looks to former foster youth of color for first-hand perspectives on the system.
Helping youth in care cultivate their identity
To help child welfare professionals assist youth of all races to develop a stronger sense of their own racial and ethnic identity, Casey introduced Knowing Who You Are, a suite of tools for social workers and social work administrators.
Learn more about Knowing Who You Are
Learning how change works
Casey is currently sponsoring a breakthrough series collaborative (BSC) on disproportionality. Child welfare professionals from around the nation work together to discover and compare techniques for reducing the problem. They conduct rapid tests of change within their local communities to improve the system's performance incrementally in a short period of time.
Learn more about the BSCs
Working with state and tribal governments
Casey’s State Strategy division has worked closely with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to pinpoint and address the issues of disproportionality in Texas. Similar efforts are underway in Alaska, California, Washington, and Wyoming.
In Alaska, Colorado, and South Dakota, one of Casey's core goals is to improve the welfare of American Indian and Alaska Native children. Casey is in the process of transferring its operations on Indian reservations back to the tribes. We also work to end the disparate treatment of Native children in state systems.
Learn more about Casey’s Indian Child Welfare work
Preventing root causes
One key way to reduce disparate treatment is to strengthen families against the challenges that poverty brings. Casey hosts programs for at-risk families in disadvantaged neighborhoods and communities to improve skill levels and reduce the risk that their children will enter the foster care system.
Learn more about Casey’s prevention work |