Introduction

Introduction

Disproportionality is the over representation of a race or cultural group in a particular program or system. By most measures of child well-being, African American, American Indian, Hawaiian and Alaska-Native children who are involved in the nation’s child welfare system have worse experiences and outcomes than do white children.

This phenomenon has most significantly affected African American children, with national data indicating that African American children represent 30% of children in foster care, although they represent only 15% of children in the general population.[1] This overrepresentation of African American children has been observed in the child welfare system for more than thirty years[2], yet persists as a national concern.[3]