From Race, Culture, Psychology and Law
K. Barrett and W. George, Eds.

The following abstract was taken from Sage Publications.

This chapter examines the knowledge base needed to work with African American families who have spent a large part of their lives involved with the child welfare system. The authors explain the common explanations of why African American children have a disproportionate presence in the child welfare system relative to their numbers in the general population and in relation to other racial groups. They suggest that professionals in the child welfare system must start to develop cultural competence, including knowledge of the structure and history of African American families, kinship care practices, reasons for overrepresentation, and policies that affect African American children and families in the child welfare system.