Racial disparities in child welfare in Ontario (Canada) and training on ethnocultural diversity: An innovative mixed-methods study

Abstract

BackgroundDespite continuous reports showing the overrepresentation of Black children in the child welfare system in Ontario, Canada’s most populous and ethnically diverse province, knowledge in the factors contributing to this issue remain scarce. ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore questions relating to caseworker’s training on ethnocultural diversity in connection with racial disparities and overrepresentation of Black children in child welfare services. Participants and settingsThis two-fold mixed-methods study included (1) a qualitative methodology based on four focus groups with child welfare caseworkers from a Children’s Aid Society (CAS) in Ontario and community facilitators (N = 24), and (2) an analysis of academic curriculums from all 36 Ontarian colleges and universities offering social work programs. MethodsWe used an innovative and complementary mixed-method design based on grounded theory. ResultsResults from categorical content analyses with NVivo revealed that community facilitators perceived a lack of ethnocultural competency amongst CAS caseworkers. Similarly, CAS caseworkers reported inadequate training on ethnocultural diversity during and following their post-secondary education (college or university). Corroborating these findings, results from documentary analyses of Ontarian university and college curriculums in social work revealed that barely one in two programs had a mandatory course on cultural issues. ConclusionsThis study reveals a need for additional efforts to provide adequate training to child welfare caseworkers on ethnocultural diversity, starting with undergraduate training programs, in order to understand and tackle the overrepresentation of Black children in child welfare services. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.