University of Connecticut, School of Social Work, 38 Prospect Street, Room 310, Hartford, CT, 06105, United States.
Child Abuse Negl. 2020 Oct;108:104664. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104664. Epub 2020 Aug 13.
The opioid epidemic has resulted in increasing attention to the effect of parental substance use disorders on child welfare system involvement, including foster care utilization. Opioid use disorders are more common among whites than people of color, however.
This study sought to determine number and proportion of children of color with substance removals and whether disparities exist in likelihood of reunification compared to white children.
PARTICIPANTS & SETTING: This study used U.S. Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) data to determine rates of foster care entries and outcomes between 2007-2017 across intersections of child race/ethnicity, age, and substance removal status.
Survival analyses were employed to test the primary research questions.
During the 10 year period observed, the number and proportion of white children with substance removals (ages 0-4 and 5+) in foster care increased two- to three-fold compared to children of color with substance removals depending on child age. However, children of color, particularly ages 0-4, faced disadvantages respecting foster care outcomes. Results of the multivariate proportional hazards models revealed that reunification was significantly and substantially more likely for every group compared to young (0-4) children of color with substance removals. Further probing revealed that racial disparities were driven primarily by Black/African American children.
Children of color with substance removals, particularly Black/African American children, are at higher risk of poor child welfare outcomes compared to their white peers.
阿片类药物泛滥导致人们越来越关注父母的物质使用障碍对儿童福利系统的影响，包括寄养的利用。然而，阿片类物质使用障碍在白种人中比在有色人种中更为常见。
本研究旨在确定有物质移除的有色人种儿童的数量和比例，以及与白人儿童相比，他们在重新团聚的可能性方面是否存在差异。
本研究使用美国收养和寄养分析和报告系统（AFCARS）的数据，以确定 2007 年至 2017 年期间，在儿童种族/族裔、年龄和物质移除状态的交叉点上，寄养进入和结果的比率。
采用生存分析来检验主要研究问题。
在观察到的 10 年期间，根据儿童年龄的不同，有物质移除（年龄 0-4 岁和 5+岁）的白人儿童在寄养中的数量和比例增加了两到三倍，而有物质移除的有色人种儿童则有所增加。然而，有色人种儿童，特别是 0-4 岁的儿童，在寄养结果方面面临劣势。多变量比例风险模型的结果显示，与有物质移除的年轻（0-4 岁）有色人种儿童相比，每个群体的重新团聚的可能性都显著且大大增加。进一步的探究表明，种族差异主要是由黑人和非裔美国儿童驱动的。
有物质移除的有色人种儿童，特别是黑人/非裔美国儿童，与他们的白人同龄人相比，儿童福利结果较差的风险更高。
