Racial disparities in child welfare in Ontario (Canada) and training on ethnocultural diversity: An innovative mixed-methods study.
Child Abuse Negl
; 108: 104659, 2020 10.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32858480
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Despite 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.OBJECTIVE:
This 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 SETTINGS This 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.METHODS:
We used an innovative and complementary mixed-method design based on grounded theory.RESULTS:
Results 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.CONCLUSIONS:
This 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.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Contexto em Saúde:
1_ASSA2030
Problema de saúde:
1_desigualdade_iniquidade
Assunto principal:
Proteção da Criança
/
Educação
Tipo de estudo:
Qualitative_research
Aspecto:
Equity_inequality
Limite:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Child Abuse Negl
Ano de publicação:
2020
Tipo de documento:
Article