Date of Award

6-2018

Document Type

Project

Degree Name

Master of Social Work

Department

School of Social Work

First Reader/Committee Chair

Lanesskog, Deirdre

Abstract

The over-representation of Black children within the child welfare system has been an ongoing topic of discussion for decades across the country. The common theme, across the United States, is that Black children are entering the child welfare systems at disproportionate rates compared to their counterparts and they tend to experience disparities in outcomes including higher recidivism rates and lower reunification rates. Although many studies examine the factors that contribute to this alarming trend, the problem still exists within child welfare systems across the country. This quantitative study’s purpose was to examine the perceptions of MSW Title IV-E students related to disproportionality and disparity among Black families within child welfare agencies. The study examined whether participants’ perceptions varied by the participant’s race/ethnicity. Participants completed an online questionnaire using Qualtrics software. Data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software and statistical tests including frequencies, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and Tukey’s post-hoc test. Significant differences were found in perceptions between Black/African American participants and Latino/Hispanic participants. These findings and their implications are discussed.

Included in

Social Work Commons

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