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Participant Handout

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Disproportionality and Disparity in Child Welfare System: A Louisiana Perspective

Welcome to this workshop!

This workshop focuses on examining the over-representation and racial inequities of children of color and particularly, African-American Children in the Louisiana Child Welfare system. You will be introduced to the data collected throughout the state which aligns with national statistics that demonstrate Child Welfare cases involving children and families of color are more likely to be: reported, screened-in, investigated, substantiated and recommended for out-of-home placement.

This interactive and engaging workshop is designed to provide a hands-on experience as we analyze how organizational factors, such as administrative practices, policy and procedures contribute to less than favorable outcomes. We will also take a look at how inclusion of Community Partners can affect positive outcomes for African-American Children in the system. This workshop will allow you an opportunity to focus on, and recommend solutions that could impact future data and create more positive outcomes for these children and their families.

We look forward to meeting you.

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Racial Disproportionality & Disparity in the Child Welfare System:

2018 TWC Conference Workshop Presenters

Mark Harris, J. D., Executive Director, Pelican Center Patsy Wilkerson, M.A. Organizational Leadership Sharon Worthy, LMSW Child Welfare Consultant

➢ Welcome & Overview of Training ➢ Who’s Here? ➢ Desired Learning Outcomes ➢ What is Racial Disproportionality & Disparity? ➢ Louisiana’s Racial Disproportionality & Disparity Data ➢ Discuss Contributing Factors to Data ➢ View Videos ➢ Identify Possible Sources of Implicit Bias in Child Welfare System ➢ Develop Strategies to Reduce Racial Disproportionality & Disparities ➢ Individual Practices to Improve Outcomes ➢ Next Steps

Introduction:

“Caesarian Egeria” means_______________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to: 1. Interpret data outlining the over-representation and racial inequities of children of color

in the Louisiana Child Welfare system 2. Identify how implicit and unrecognized cultural bias may impact the lives of children and

families in the Child Welfare System 3. Describe the distinctions between Racial Disproportionality and Disparity in the child

Welfare System; and their relationship to each other 4. Create strategies and potential solutions to improve outcomes and positively improve

the racial disproportionality and disparity of Africa-American children in Louisiana 5. Commit to taking intentional steps to positively impact future data and improve

outcomes for all children

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Rule of Engagement: Take the lid off my thinking means:

_____________________________________________________________________________

Presentation of Louisiana’s Racial Disproportionality & Disparity Data:

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Definitions Related to Child Welfare

Disproportionality:

Disparity:

Response to Racial Disproportionality & Disparity Data

1. What’s your “one-word” response to this data?

2. What implications does this data have for Children currently in the Welfare System?

3. What organizational factors (policies, administrative practices, etc.) contribute to these

results?

4. What else do you believe contributes to this data?

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Racism is an Illusion Video What are your thoughts and response to the video? _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Primary, Secondary & Generational Dimensions of Diversity

The Five Living Generations In America Dr. Jill Novak, University of Phoenix, Texas A&M University.

GI Generation - [ Born 1901-1926

• Children of the WWI generation & fighters in WWII & young in the Great Depression…all leading to strong models of teamwork to overcome and progress.

• Their Depression was The Great One; their war was The Big One; their prosperity was the legendary Happy Days

• They saved the world and then built a nation • They are the assertive and energetic do’ers • Excellent team players/ Community-minded • Strongly interested in personal morality / near-absolute standards of right and wrong • Strong sense of personal civic duty, which means they vote

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• Marriage is for life, divorce and having children out of wedlock were not accepted • Strong loyalty to jobs, groups, schools, etc. • There was no “retirement” you worked until your died or couldn’t work anymore

• The labor-union-spawning generation • Avoid debt…save and buy with cash • Age of radio, air flight; generation that remembers life without airplanes, radio, and TV • Grew up without modern conveniences like refrigerators, electricity and air conditioning

Mature/Silents - Born 1927- 1945 - Traditionalists

• Went through their formative years during an era of suffocating conformity, but also during the post-war happiness: Peace! Jobs! Suburbs! Television! Rock ‘n Roll! Cars! Playboy Magazine!

• Korean and Vietnam War generation. • The First Hopeful Drumbeats of Civil Rights! • Pre-feminism women; women stayed home generally to raise children, if they worked it was

only certain jobs like teacher, nurse or secretary. • Men pledged loyalty to the corporation, once you got a job, you kept it for life. • Marriage is for life, divorce and having children out of wedlock were not accepted. • In grade school, teachers complained about passing notes & chewing gum in class. • They are avid readers, especially newspapers. • “Retirement” means to sit in a rocking chair and live your final days in peace. • The Big-Band/Swing music generation.

Baby Boomers Born between 1946 and 1964

Baby boomers are the demographic of people who were born just after the Second World War; this would give the baby boomer generation an approximate date of between 1946 and 1964.

• The save-the-world revolutionaries of the ’60s and ’70s; • The party-hardy career climbers (Yuppies) of the ’70s/’80s. • The “me” generation. • “Rock and roll” music generation. • Ushered in the free love and societal “non-violent” protests which triggered violence. • Self-righteous & self-centered • Buy it now and use credit. • Too busy for much neighbourly involvement yet strong desires to reset or change the

common values for the good of all. • Women of this generation began working outside the home in record numbers, thereby

changing the entire nation as this was the first generation to have their own children raised in a two-income household where mom was not omnipresent.

• The first TV generation. • The first divorce generation, where divorce was beginning to be accepted as a tolerable

reality • Began accepting homosexuals. • Optimistic, driven, team-oriented. • Tend to be more positive about authority, hierarchal structure and tradition. • Their aging will change America almost incomprehensibly; they are the first generation to

use the word “retirement” to mean being able to enjoy life after the children have left home. Instead of sitting in a rocking chair, they go skydiving, exercise and take up hobbies

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Generation X - Born between 1965 and 1980

• The “latch-key kids” - often with divorced or career-driven parents. Latch-Key wore around their neck, because they would go home from school to an empty house.

• Entrepreneurial. • Very individualistic. • Government and big business mean little to them. • Want to save the neighbourhood; not the world • Most remember being in school without computers and the introduction of computers • Desire a chance to learn, explore and make a contribution • Tend to commit to self rather than an organization or specific career. This generation

averages 7 career changes in their lifetime, unlike previous generations. • Society and thus individuals are envisioned as disposable. • AIDS begins to spread and is first lethal infectious disease in the history of any culture on

earth which was not subjected to any quarantine. • Beginning obsession of individual rights prevailing over the common good • Raised by the career and money conscious Boomers amidst the societal disappointment

over governmental authority and the Vietnam war. • School problems were about drugs. • Late to marry (after cohabitation) and quick to divorce…many single parents. • Into labels and brand names. • Want what they want/want it now but struggling to buy; most are deeply in credit card debt • Short on loyalty & wary of commitment; all values are relative…must tolerate all peoples • Self-absorbed and suspicious of all organization. • Cautious, skeptical, unimpressed with authority, self-reliant.

Generation Y/Millennials - Born between 1981 and 2000

• Aka “The 9/11 Generation” “Echo Boomers” America’s next great generation brings a sharp departure from Generation X.

• They are nurtured by omnipresent parents, optimistic, and focused. • Respect authority. • Falling crime rates. Falling teen pregnancy rates. But with school safety problems; they live

with the thought they could be shot at school, they learned early; world is not a safe place • They schedule everything. • They feel enormous academic pressure. • They feel like a generation and have great expectations for themselves. • Prefer digital literacy; grew up in a digital environment. Have never known a world without

computers! They get their information and socialization from Internet. • Prefer to work in teams • With unlimited access to information tend to be assertive with strong views • Envision the world as a 24/7 place; want fast and immediate processing • They have been told they are special, and they expect the world to treat them that way • Work to live, they prefer a more relaxed work environment – need hand holding & accolades

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Generation Z: Born between 1995 - 2000

According to Forbes (2015), the generation after Millennials, Generation Z, Generation Z are children of Generation X, but they also have parents who are Millennials.

Generation Z is independent, and has led to an entrepreneurial desire, after seeing their parents and older siblings struggle in the workforce.

A 2014 study Generation Z Goes to College found that Generation Z students self-identify as being loyal, compassionate, thoughtful, open-minded, responsible, and determined. How they see their Generation Z peers is quite different from their own self-identity. They view their peers as competitive, spontaneous, adventuresome, and curious; all characteristics that they do not see readily in themselves.

Research from the Annie E. Casey Foundation conducted in 2016 found Generation Z youth had lower teen pregnancy rates, less substance abuse, and higher on-time high school graduation rates compared with Millennials. The researchers compared teens from 2008 and 2014 and found a 40% drop in teen pregnancy, a 38% drop in drug and alcohol abuse, and a 28% drop in the percentage of teens who did not graduate on time from high school.

Other characteristics of Generation Z: More racial diversity

• Less traditional (nuclear) family backgrounds, more single-parent and same-sex parent

families.

• More likely to have friends from various ethnic, religious and racial groups.

• More risk-adverse.

• Less confident in the current economic system.

• More inclined to entrepreneurialism.

• More religious.

• Spend more time online.

• Use phones more than television for entertainment.

References - deMesa, A. (2008). Marketing and tweens. Retrieved on February 21, 2008.

Generational Generalities. (2005). America’s generations. Retrieved November 6, 2007. Generational Imperative.

(2006). Meet Americas 5 living generations. Retrieved on November 6, 2007. Marketing Vox. (2008). Generation Z.

Retrieved on February 14, 2008.Parents. (December 2007). Check out this news. Parents Magazine, p.16

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Cultural Programming Puzzle

Learning more about each other can be informative, enjoyable an interesting. We

can realize new ways to interact and connect with each other in a fun way. Rarely

do we take time to get beyond name, position and department/agency during

workplace interactions. Our diverse dimensions contribute to our cultural

programming --- it begins with knowing who you are as unique individuals and

shared similarities.

Take 7 minutes to complete your cultural programming puzzle. Think about who

or what contributed to who you are and why you believe what you believe today.

Throughout your life--- up to this moment ---- your cultural programming puzzle

has been put together piece by piece – one piece at a time.

Our cultural programming influences our habits, attitudes, biases, perspectives,

perceptions, actions and behavior. Cultural programming factors could include;

people, places, education, spirituality, successes, failures, successes, geography,

lifestyle, financial, events, etc.

Discussion Questions:

1. What conclusions can be draw from this experience? Any surprises?

2. What have you been taught because of your cultural programming?

3. Are there implications for us about how we connect and relate to others?

4. What current behaviors do you express that can be traced back to one of your

programming puzzles? Share a personal example.

5. What can we learn from our cultural programming puzzles?

6. What actions are you willing to take to maximize the strengths and

minimize the weaknesses discovered in your cultural programming?

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What are the traits, qualities, issues, concerns and characteristics that African-American children or children of color may present– that contributes to disproportionality and disparity

Pause & Think About it…

We can learn ways to respond positively and overcome our automatic

assumptions by checking our inferences and gathering more information

about team members. We can treat people as the different, diverse

individuals they are and not label them based on groups we think they

belong to. We can reprogram ourselves to look at the data differently

and not automatically draw conclusions based on limited information and

past experiences.

Cultural Programming

of Foster Children

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How Our Assumptions Dictate Our Response

Behavior Response

1. What do you believe is the source of these assumptions?

2. What can be done to overcome our prejudices?

3. Have you ever been “caught” by your own stereotyping, misjudging

someone because of your own erroneous assumptions? What

happened? How did it feel? What was the result?

4. Have you ever been misjudged by someone else? What happened? How

did it feel? What did you do?

5. What can you do to minimize pre-judging others prior to getting?

additional information?

6. Are there any actions you can take so that you are positively controlling?

how your assumptions dictate response?

Assumptions:

natural process

by which we attach meaning to sensory data

Socialization Education Culture Past Experiences

Sensory Data

Filters

Inference

Assumptions

Socialization Culture

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Data-Inference-Prophecy

Data: Information perceived through senses

• What we see, what we hear

• Usually not complete

• We make guesses to understand better

Inference: Guesses & assumptions about the data we see / hear

Prophecy: Prediction about a future outcome based on inferences that worked

in the past

Assuming someone who belongs to a group is just

like others in that group (positive or negative)

“We are different to make a difference”

Perception: Bias: Prejudice: Could it be our perception or a misunderstanding? Video: “What kind of Asian are you?” What’s Your response?

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Potential Factors Contributing to Racial Disproportionality & Disparity in Child Welfare System

Policies & Procedures Implicit ()

Explicit ()

Action Steps / Solutions to Change

Administrative Practices

Personal Bias

Organizational Structures (Decision-making authorities, Hierarchy, etc.)

Cultural Factors

Others

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Let’s stop talking; Let’s ACT!

“I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot;

TOGETHER we can do great things.” Mother Teresa

Think about your role

• Identify areas you can improve

List one action you can take

• How will you practice?

• Describe impact on you personally

Think about your clients

• How will it impact them?

• Describe your feelings when you are successful