Addressing disproportionality and disparity in child welfare: Evaluation of an anti-racism training for community service providers

Abstract

Concerns persist about the overrepresentation and differential treatment of children and families of color within the child welfare system. Although many researchers and practitioners have considered ways to combat these problems, there continues to be a shortage of empirical support for proposed interventions. This article describes the evaluation of an anti-racism training designed to address disproportionality and disparity by educating members of the child welfare community about issues of race, power, and oppression. Pre- and post-training evaluation questionnaires were completed by 462 training participants between June 2007 and June 2008. Questionnaires measured changes in participants' attitudes toward race and knowledge of key concepts regarding race and racism, as well as their satisfaction with the training, and expected practice changes. Preliminary findings indicate that participants were very satisfied with the training, increased their knowledge of issues pertaining to race and racism, and became more aware of racial dynamics.