Examining African American fathers' involvement in permanency planning: An effort to reduce racial disproportionality in the child welfare system

Children of color are disproportionately represented in the child welfare system. In 2005 they comprised 53% of the 513,000 children in out-of-home placements in the United States [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration for Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau (2006). Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS). Retrieved on June 12, 2007 from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/tar/report 13.htm]. On average, they stay in foster care longer than Caucasian children [Hill, R.B. (2006). Synthesis of research on disproportionality in child welfare: An update. Washington, D.C.: Casey—CSSP Alliance for Racial Equity in the Child Welfare System. Retrieved April 11, 2007, from http://www.caseyfamilyservices.org/pdfs/0226_CC_BobHillPaper_FINAL.pdf]. There is virtually no empirical research on African American fathers' involvement in permanency planning, which makes it difficult either to understand the relationships among fathers' involvement, agency practices, and children's permanency outcomes or to identify which types of efforts are most effective to involve African American fathers. This study examines the extent to which African American fathers' involvement in permanency planning influences children's placement outcomes using a secondary data analysis of 88 children's child welfare case records. Findings show that children were reunited with birth families more often and had shorter stays in foster care when their fathers were involved. This study contributes to the emerging research on fathers' involvement and explores agency practices that account for extended lengths of stay in foster care for children of color. Recommendations are provided for child welfare policy, practice, and research. Article: INTRODUCTION Children of color are disproportionately represented in the child welfare system. In 2005, there were 513,000 children in out-of-home placements in the United States (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [DHHS], 2006). Of those, 53% were children of color: 32% were African American, 18% were Hispanic/Latino, and 3% were from other minority groups (DHHS, 2006). On average, children of color stay in foster care longer than Caucasian children (Hill, 2005 and Hill, 2006). Recently, child welfare agencies across the nation have made innovative, though sporadic, programmatic changes in an effort actively to involve African American fathers in their children's permanency planning. This falls on the heels of growing community interest in how noncustodial African American fathers' financial and emotional involvement affects children's development ( [Johnson, 2002], [O'Donnell, 1999] and [O'Donnell, 2001]). There is a shortage of empirical research on African American fathers' involvement in permanency planning, which makes it difficult to understand the relationships among fathers' involvement, agency practices, and children's permanency outcomes or to identify which types of interventions are most effective to involve African American fathers. A few qualitative studies, however, have begun to shed light on why African American fathers have not been involved. Some of the reasons lie with the fathers: their inability to provide financial support, incarceration, substance abuse, mental health problems, their bond with their children, or their relationship with the children's mothers. Others lie with child welfare agencies: policies and practices that do not take into account the impact of race-related social problems on fathers' willingness and capacity to contribute sufficiently to permanency planning efforts. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which African American fathers' involvement in permanency planning influences children's placement outcomes. The author hypothesizes that African American children who have been removed from their homes are reunited with their birth parents or placed with adoptive families sooner when their fathers are actively involved in the permanency case plan. The present study contributes to the emerging knowledge base on fathers' involvement and explores child welfare practices that account for extended lengths of stay in foster care for children of color. Recommendations are provided for child welfare policy, practice, and research.