Child Welfare & Cultural Diversity
African American Community
The 2000 US Census states that African American people make up 12.8% of the country's total population. They are the largest racial minority group in the United States.
In Minnesota, African Americans make up 4.6% of the population (2000 US Census). The majority of African Americans in the state reside in its urban and suburban areas.
Disproportionate representation of African American children in Minnesota's child welfare system is an ongoing concern. Along with Native American children, they have the highest rates of contact with child protection. African American children were four times more likely to be reported as abused or neglected than were white children (2008 Minnesota's Child Welfare Report).
Resources on Child Welfare and the African American Community:
- Working with African American Families from the Child Welfare Information Gateway
- A Practice Guide for Working with African American Families in the Child Welfare System (2008)
- African American Children in Foster Care (2007), a US GAO report to the Committee on Ways and Means, US House of Representatives
- Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community (IDVAAC): Stop! Hear a Child's Cry - African American Children and domestic Violence: Prevention and Intervention (2007)
- Center for Urban Families True Dads documentary
- Child Welfare System Involvement of African Americans: Jones County, Illinois
- Gamble-Skogmo Forum on Evidence-Based Practice and Cultural Competence: Presentation by Dr. Carl C. Bell (2007), video
- MN DHS African American Comparative Case Review Study Report (2005)
- Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community (IDVAAC): Cultural Competence, African Americans & Domestic Violence, audio webcast
- Study of Outcomes for African American Children in Minnesota's Child Protection System (2002)
- Disproportionate representation of ethnic or racial groups by the Texas Department of Family & Protective Services
- Casey-CSSP Alliance for Racial Equity in Child Welfare
General Resources on the African American Community:
- Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community, School of Social Work, University of Minnesota
- African American Children: State Level Measures of Child Well-being from the 2000 Census from KidsCount
- Facts on the Black or African American Population from the US Census Bureau
- African American History, resource list from the University of Washington
Return to the CASCW Home Page or the Child Welfare & Cultural Diversity page.