Untangling child welfare disparities: Adoption outcomes for Black

children with disabilities

Elspeth Slayter, Ph.D.School of Social Work Salem State College

July 16, 20092nd National Conference on

Child and Family Programs and Policy

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Adoption in 2003…

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Disparate adoption outcomes

• Race and ethnicity– Multiethnic Placement Act,

1994, 1996

• Age– Older children

• Gender– Boys and young men

• Disability– “Special needs”– Subsidies

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Guiding conceptual framework: Intersectionality

• Kimberlee Crenshaw • Multiplicity of oppression• Axes of difference

• Complex interactions impact reality

• Interconnectivity in producing/perpetuating systems of oppression

• Potential for interconnectivity in adoption from foster care

• Age x gender x race x disability?

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Group comparisons

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Research questions

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Sample and comparison groups

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Definitions of disability

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Aim 1: Age and gender

Age:• Black youth with

disabilities - older than non-Black counterparts (7 ½ vs. 7, t=3.86***)

Gender: • Hypotheses not supported• Black youth with

disabilities – more likely to be male than non-Black counterparts (55% vs. 53%, OR=1.1*)

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Aim 1: Types of disability

Multiple disability: – Black vs. non-

Black youth with disabilities almost 2 times more likely (1.4% vs. 0.8%, OR=1.65**)

‘Mental retardation’:• Less likely among Black

vs. non-Black youth with disabilities (9.4% vs. 12.1%, OR=0.75***)

• More likely among Black boys with disabilities (9.7% vs. 9.0%, OR=1.03***)

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Aim 1: Diagnosis of ‘emotionally disturbed’

• Black vs. non-Black youth with disabilities 27% less likely (38% vs. 44%, OR=0.73***)

• Black youth with vs. without disabilities 36.4 times more likely (38% vs. 2%, OR=36.4***)

– Black boys with disabililties 17% less likely than Black girls with disabilities (37% vs. 40%, OR=0.83**)

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Aim 2: Time between termination of parental rights and adoption

Group comparison Mean (Standard deviation) t

All Black youthAll Non-Black youth

1.98 (0.02)1.41 (0.01)

t=21.2***

All Black boys All Black girls

2.37 (0.26)1.60 (0.02)

t=4.0***

Youth with disabilitiesYouth without disabilities

1.81 (0.02)1.60 (0.01)

t=7.70***

Black youth with disabilitiesNon-Black youth with disabilities

1.87 (0.29)1.63(0.01)

t=12.7***

Black youth with disabilitiesBlack youth without disabilities

1.91 (0.03)2.06 (0.02)

t=4.1***

Black boys with disabilitiesBlack girls with disabilities

1.91 (0.04)1.90 (0.05)

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Aim 3: Adoptive family structure

• Black vs. non-Black youth with disabilities 3.4 times more likely adopted by single, vs.

two-parent families (33% vs. 15%, OR=3.40***)

• Black youth with vs. without disabilities 35% less likely to be adopted by single parents (33% vs. 47%, OR=0.65***)

– Black boys vs. girls 23% less likely (30% vs. 36%, OR=0.77***)

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Aim 3: Black adoptive families

• Mixed support for hypothesis

• Black vs. non-Black youth with disabilities 54 times more likely (53% vs. 2%, OR=54.4***)

• Black youth with disabilities vs. without 46% less likely (53% vs. 72%, OR=0.54***)

– Black boys vs. girls with disabilities 18% less likely (50% vs. 55%, OR=0.82**)

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Aim 3: Pre-adoptive relationship

• Kin: Mixed support for hypothesis– Black youth with vs. without disabilities 43% less

likely (12% vs. 20%, OR=0.57***)

• Foster parent: 13%-22% less likely

• Non-relative, non-foster parent: – Black vs. non-Black youth with disabilities 3 times

more likely (33% vs. 15%, OR=2.77***)

– Black youth with vs. without disabilities 1.3 times more likely (17% vs. 12%, OR=1.32***)

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Aim 3: Post-adoption funding

• Black vs. non-Black youth with disabilities more likely to receive any Federal or state subsidy (93% vs. 91%, OR=1.30***)

• Receive equal $ state subsidies compared to non-Black youth with disabilities in most states ($1,452 vs. $1,001, t=4.09***)

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Aim 3: Post-adoption funding

• Black youth with vs. without disabilities 2 times more likely to receive subsidy (93% vs.87%, OR=1.97***)

• Receive larger $ subsidies than Black youth without disabilities ($1,452 vs. $1,001, t=4.09***)

– No gender differences among Black youth with disabilities

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DiscussionCharacteristics

• Equal proportions of adoptees by gender – role of subsidy?

• Need to understand who is left behind

Waiting time

• Disparities among youth with disabilities

• Within group gender effect

• Role of subsidy in shorter waiting time among Black youth?

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DiscussionAdoptive families

• MEPA after-effects?

• Black single parents more likely to adopt?

• Kin findings mirror guardianship trends - any disability stigma?

• Post-adoption supports

Subsidy

• Few apparent disparities– State-specific issues?

• Promise of subsidies for all children?

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Future research• Which Black foster children with disabilities

remain in foster care awaiting adoption?– More disabled? Older at removal? Sibling groups?

• Role of subsidies in decision-making?– Existing research suggests subsidy as commodity in

divorce proceedings– Possible racial disparities in subsidy disbursement in

some states?

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Acknowledgements

• Sheron Adair, MSW & Evenns Semerzier, MSW, Graduate Research Assistants

• National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN)– Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System

(Children’s Bureau)– NDACAN, Cornell University and their agents or employees

bear no responsibility for these analyses or interpretations

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Removal from family (imminent risk of abuse, neglect)

Return to family within 22 months with concurrent

planning

Work toward reunification (in most cases)

Initiation of termination of parental rights proceedings after 15/22

months

Parental rights terminated

AdoptedLT foster care or waiting for adoption

Federal Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1996 (ASFA)

*Safety

*Permanency

*Well-being

Federal, state-specific subsidies, programs, resources

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