Confronting Systemic Inequity in Child Welfare
For generations, the disproportionate separation of Black families has perpetuated cycles of trauma and systemic oppression. Village Arms is dedicated to dismantling these injustices through advocacy, policy reform, and culturally rooted solutions.
The Roots of Inequity: A Legacy of Harm
For generations, the disproportionate separation of Black families at the hands of the state has inflicted profound and enduring trauma, reinforcing cycles of intergenerational harm that sustain the broader oppression of this community. The outcomes of child welfare intervention—poverty, homelessness, unemployment, and incarceration—mirror the same conditions that have perpetuated the subjugation of Black Americans since the abolition of slavery.
What distinguishes contemporary family separations from those that occurred during chattel slavery is the illusion of benevolence under which they now operate. Despite overwhelming evidence of the harm inflicted upon Black children and families by the child welfare system, this institution has largely evaded widespread scrutiny. This is due, in part, to a highly coordinated and effective campaign that frames child welfare intervention as an essential service—one that purportedly rescues children from harm and provides necessary support to struggling families. This widely accepted narrative, however, is a myth.
The truth is that fewer than one in five children who are forcibly removed from their homes have experienced any form of physical or sexual abuse. Instead of serving as a protective measure against genuine harm, the child welfare system functions as an apparatus that systematically removes hundreds of thousands of children from their families for reasons that are largely rooted in racialized poverty rather than abuse or neglect. Each year, nearly 70 percent of children placed in foster care are taken from their parents under the expansive and ambiguous category of “neglect.” Most states define neglect as a failure to provide for basic needs such as food, clothing, or shelter. However, the inability to meet these fundamental needs is overwhelmingly a consequence of poverty—an issue deeply entrenched in systemic inequities that have disproportionately impacted Black families for generations. These inequities stem from deliberate state policies enacted since the abolition of slavery, designed to ensure economic instability and social disadvantage within Black communities.
Furthermore, the determination of neglect and the subsequent decisions to remove children from their homes are heavily influenced by racialized narratives of poverty. These narratives, rooted in enduring racial stereotypes and biases, shape the perceptions of child welfare authorities and judicial systems, leading to the disproportionate targeting and separation of Black families. As a result, the child welfare system continues to operate as a tool of racial and social control, reinforcing economic and political disenfranchisement while perpetuating the oppression of Black Americans under the guise of child protection
“confronting the racist legacy of the american child welfare system”- Alan Detlaff
“Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of GOD'S children.”
- MLK
Village Arms was created in direct response to the over representation and disparate treatment of African Americans across the child welfare service continuum.
African American children remain overrepresented in Minnesota’s child welfare system. This overrepresentation raises concern about child welfare policy, practice, and service delivery to African American families. According to current data 26% of the children in foster care are African American although they make up only 10% of the state’s total child population.
Once these children are in the custody of the state, they remain in the system for much longer periods than Caucasian children do.
The Data: Racial Disparities in Minnesota
As compared to White children :
African American children are three times more likely to be reported
African American and children of 2 or more races are 2.4 - 4.7 times more likely to be screened in for assessments and investigations
African American and children of 2 or more races are placed in out of home care at a rate 2-7 times higher than white children
The longer African American children remain in out-of-home care, the more they experience multiple moves in placement settings
African American youth have high rates of reaching the age of majority when in placement for long periods of time.
Please note that race/ethnicity information collected on children includes the category "two or more races". Children identified in the “two or more races” category are a growing population within MN’s child welfare system. The majority of the children under this category have a Black parent; nearly 60%. This differentiation skews the data about Black children in MN's child welfare system.
Were we listing the disparities under impact?
Village Arms was created in direct response to the over representation and disparate treatment of African Americans across the child welfare service continuum.
African American children remain overrepresented in Minnesota’s child welfare system. This overrepresentation raises concern about child welfare policy, practice, and service delivery to African American families. According to current data 26% of the children in foster care are African American although they make up only 10% of the state’s total child population.
Once these children are in the custody of the state, they remain in the system for much longer periods than Caucasian children do.
The Data: Racial Disparities in Minnesota
Please note that race/ethnicity information collected on children includes the category "two or more races". Children identified in the “two or more races” category are a growing population within MN’s child welfare system. The majority of the children under this category have a Black parent; nearly 60%. This differentiation skews the data about Black children in MN's child welfare system.
As compared to White children, African American children are over-represented in rate of:
-
African American children are three times more likely to be reported
-
African American and children of 2 or more races are 2.4 - 4.7 times more likely to be screened in for assessments and investigations
-
African American and children of 2 or more races are placed in out of home care at a rate 2-7 times higher than white children
-
The longer African American children remain in out-of-home care, the more they experience multiple moves in placement settings
-
African American youth have high rates of reaching the age of majority when in placement for long periods of time
"Family separation can cause irreparable harm... affecting short- and long-term health."
- American Academy of Pediatrics
The Lifelong Impact of Family Separation
Children generally suffer worse outcomes when removed than if they had been allowed to remain in their home.
Children removed from homes face higher risks of delinquency, mental health disorders, and economic instability.
83% of removals are for poverty-related ‘neglect,’ not abuse.
*Trauma from separation disrupts brain development (American Academy of Pediatrics).
In studies of similarly situated children, those who were removed:
have two to three times higher delinquency rates
have higher teen birth rates
have lower earnings as adults
are two to three times more likely to enter the criminal justice system as adults
are twice as likely to have learning disabilities and developmental delays
are six times more likely to have behavioral problems.
as adults, are more likely to have substance-related disorders, psychotic or bipolar disorders, and depression and anxiety disorders
as adults, have arrest rates two to three times higher, and are more likely to have criminal convictions for violent offenses
* Trauma Caused by Separation of Children from Parents-
© 2018 American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission
The Trauma of Removal and Child Welfare Involvement
The disproportionate investigation and removal of Black children causes tremendous trauma and harm to both children and parents. For most children, entry into the child welfare system is unexpected, shocking, and traumatic. Children are taken from their homes by strangers to a new and unfamiliar place, often a group home or sometimes even an office. In the process, they may be separated from their siblings and their belongings, and they may even be strip-searched. Separating children from their families breaks a critical source of attachment. The American Academy of Pediatrics has found that family separation “can cause irreparable harm, disrupting a child’s brain architecture and affecting his or her short- and long-term health.” Parents too experience harm and trauma from such separation.
The Lifelong Impact of Family Separation
-
Children removed from homes face higher risks of delinquency, mental health disorders, and economic instability.
-
83% of removals are for poverty-related ‘neglect,’ not abuse.
-
Trauma from separation disrupts brain development (American Academy of Pediatrics).
Children generally suffer worse outcomes when removed than if they had been allowed to remain in their home.
In studies of similarly situated children, those who were removed:
-
have two to three times higher delinquency rates
-
have higher teen birth rates
-
have lower earnings as adults
-
are two to three times more likely to enter the criminal justice system as adults
-
are twice as likely to have learning disabilities and developmental delays.
-
are six times more likely to have behavioral problems.
-
as adults, are more likely to have substance-related disorders, psychotic or bipolar disorders, and depression and anxiety disorders
-
as adults, have arrest rates two to three times higher, and are more likely to have criminal convictions for violent offenses.
* Trauma Caused by Separation of Children from Parents-
© 2018 American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission
The Trauma of Removal and Child Welfare Involvement
The disproportionate investigation and removal of Black children causes tremendous trauma and harm to both children and parents. For most children, entry into the child welfare system is unexpected, shocking, and traumatic. Children are taken from their homes by strangers to a new and unfamiliar place, often a group home or sometimes even an office. In the process, they may be separated from their siblings and their belongings, and they may even be strip-searched. Separating children from their families breaks a critical source of attachment. The American Academy of Pediatrics has found that family separation “can cause irreparable harm, disrupting a child’s brain architecture and affecting his or her short- and long-term health.” Parents too experience harm and trauma from such separation.
Many children also experience harm within the child welfare system. There is substantial evidence that children are actually more likely to be abused while in foster care than in the general population. Children in foster care are also at increased risk for mental health disorders, are more likely to be overprescribed psychotropic medication, and are at increased risk for exposure to sex trafficking. The long-term outcome for children aging out of foster care is similarly poor. Children who have been in foster care are at increased risk for criminal justice involvement, less educational achievement, higher rates of drug and alcohol abuse, and higher risk of future homelessness.
Despite these severe and well-documented harms, the U.S. child welfare system and legal system rarely consider the harm of removal. Only a handful of jurisdictions in the U.S. even require courts and judges to incorporate this inquiry into their decisions on removal into state custody.
According to national research studies, children in foster care are more likely to experience:
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Teen Pregnancy
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Adult Homelessness
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Involvement in the criminal justice system
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Unemployment
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Alcohol and or drug addiction
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Long term mental health disorders
Common mental health disorders seen among foster care youth include:
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Post-traumatic stress disorder
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Reactive attachment disorder
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Anxiety disorder
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Depression
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Borderline personality disorder
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Social phobia
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Oppositional defiant disorder
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Separation anxiety disorder
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Eating disorders
It's also common for children who have experienced foster care to engage in high-risk behaviors such as violence, substance use, and delinquency.
