The Overwhelming Existence of Disproportionality

What is it? Disproportionality is the ratio/stat that shows an over or under representation of a particular race or cultural group within a particular system compared to the rest of the general population. In an eye opening training today, we discussed this topic with regards to different programs, such as child protective services, juvenile justice, and the criminal justice system.

Going farther with a glimpse into the Child Welfare system, a higher percentage of African-American children are removed from their homes, a lower percentage are successfully reunited with their families, and a higher percentage age out of foster care without an adoptive family or other permanent placement. Why is this?

Could disproportionality be a symptom of a larger social problem? Could it be that the reason these children are not reunited with their family as often as other children in the foster system is due to their Black parents being over represented in the prison system? In fact, many of these parents lose their children due to unrelated issues than being abusive parents. It is fairly common knowledge pertaining to drug laws and the difference in sentencing with regards to possessing crack cocaine verses powder cocaine. It is also commonly understood which racial group is affiliated with which drug and the difference in sentencing gram per gram. Within the CWS, parents have a limited time to fulfill requirements in getting their children back, usually only have six months for babies and two years for older children. After which time, they lose their parental rights.

Why is there a higher percentage that age out of foster care without an adoptive family or other permanent placement? Stats show that it is harder and takes much longer to place a ‘child of color’ than it does a white child. Similarly but less dispraisingly, it is easier to place a female than a male in child protective custody.

Poverty in and of itself is a major risk factor. According to Scales and Streeter in Rural Social Work: Building and Sustaining Community Assets, “for a majority of Americans the question is not if they will experience poverty, but when.” Census numbers show that there are more Caucasian people in America than African Americans and because of this, there should be more poor white people than there are poor black folks. However, according to Scales and Streeter, “nearly two-thirds of all Americans and more than 90% of African-Americans will experience at least one year of living below the poverty line.” Why is there such a disparity? Could it be the lack of proper education in their neighborhoods, health care availability, employment opportunities, environmental hazards around ghettos, etc?

What can we do about it? First, we can acknowledge its existence and create trainings that inform staff and community members. We can increase staff diversity. We can work more diligently towards connecting children in the system with a permanent placement. Recruit more foster and adoptive families of color while diligently searching for absent or unidentified parents and extended relatives. And of course, work to change state and federal policies surrounding unfair drug laws.

Another point of interest, is the inverse of African American children being over represented within CWS compared to whites while Asian children are largely under represented. Why? Are they being over looked based on good behavior and lack of obvious poverty? And therefore, not coming into the system? Or, culturally are they as parents doing something better more productive than everyone else? These are questions worth asking and answers that are desperately needed for the health and emotional safety of all children!

Never Just One Person, One Step or One Stage

Social work is never, nor could it ever be, done alone. It is a social skill, a social service and a society endeavor. We work to support each other in the field, help one another to brainstorm effective efforts, and implement evidence-based practices that stem from the research of many.

Social workers use a series of steps to help clients resolve their problems. These steps include: collecting information about the client (assessment), making sense out of the information (diagnosis), collaborating with the client to develop a plan to change the problem (the treatment plan), and determining whether the process has been helpful (evaluation).

The type of helping relationship that we develop with our clients is a direct reflection of how the social work process will help the individual or group with which we are working. In my mind, it is imperative that a positive and cooperative relationship is developed between the social worker and their clients. This is done through showing empathy, genuine authenticity, and unconditional positive regard for the client. This is the recipe of a true helping relationship.

In Community Practice: Theories and Skills for Social Workers, they discuss the difference between task and process which are both key to accomplishing the objectives of a group. Task is the subject or content of what is on hand to discuss or address. The process is the dynamics of the group’s interactions and nature of developed relationships. For a group to be successful, both task and process need to be attended to. Both task and process are accomplished through the stages of group development known as: forming, storming, norming, and performing. These stages can be linear but are often cycled back through from one stage to the next as the group carries onward from one meeting to the next. A successful group is one that tends to the agreed upon task while supportive relationships develop along the way.

Community Development, Locally & Internationally.

The profession of Social Work promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people. There are critical issues facing our entire world in both wealthy nations and developing countries. It is with deep hope and prayer that people everywhere, each and every one of us, will soon begin to take matters, even a small step, into their own hands. Each one of us can lend a humanitarian hand to a particular cause that moves us. We as social workers have chosen to dedicate our careers to causes such as: alleviating hunger, providing shelter for the houseless, providing aid to refuges in war torn regions, protecting the environment, advocating for human rights, and implementing conflict resolutions to end violence.

The principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work. People need to be educated about what public, private, governmental and social service resources exist to provide aid and assistance to people in need. Even beyond the awareness of a programs existence is the knowledge of how to navigate the, often complicated, systems already in place. Identifying a community’s resources is the first step to positive change!

In Rural Social Work: Building and Sustaining Community Assets, sustainability was discussed in that there exists an irrefutable connection and dependence between humans and their environment. And, this connection is securely tied to economic and social development. That being said, the environment is taking the brunt of the overwhelming global development and it needs protection. This protection must come from policy change in and between nations as well as the education among all humans in how to access and conserve resources. Environmental protection through sustainability is a global issue that is on the table for discussion at both the G20 summit in Pittsburg, discussing the global economy, and at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhegan in December (http://en.cop15.dk/).

There are endless ways to get involved both locally AND internationally. For ideas in and around Humboldt County visit: http://reachouthumboldt.org/

For ideas to help internationally through volunteer opportunities or employment try:

http://www.idealist.org/ or www.peacecorps.gov. J