Attitudes about Child Protective Services among urban American Indian/Alaska Native parents: Implications for culturally relevant child welfare practice

Purpose Historically, relationships between public child welfare agencies and AI/AN (American Indian/Alaska Native) communities have been strained. Child welfare has been a particular target of governmental attempts to assimilate Native families and child welfare policies have left a legacy of mistrust regarding any governmental interference in the lives of AI/AN people. Although numerous scholars have suggested that Native parents mistrust child protective service (CPS) agencies, there is little empirical evidence to support these contentions and no information available on the factors that may influence perceptions. In order to establish a baseline understanding of attitudes toward CPS in the urban AI/AN community, this study examines perceptions and explores how socio-demographic factors, cultural orientation, and Native-specific factors (ie. Indian boarding school attendance) influence attitudes among urban AI/AN parents.

Methods The study sample consisted of 151 urban AI/AN parents residing in Los Angeles. To assist in the development of the survey, two community focus groups were convened. Serious consideration was given to make the sample as broadly representative as possible and parents were recruited through presentations at Native community events, pow-wows, and recruitment fliers. In addition, snowball sampling was used, specifically targeting those who did not attend community events or receive services at Indian agencies in the area. Respondents were asked basic socio-demographic information and Native-specific information. The General Ethnicity Questionnaire (Tsai, Ying, and Lee, 1998) was used to assess cultural orientation and perceptions of CPS were assessed using qualitative data and the Level of Trust in CPS Scale - LTCPSS (Evans-Campbell, 2000).

Results AI/AN parents had quite low levels of trust in CPS with an average LTCPSS score of 4.8 on a scale of 0 to 12. In order to identify which variables were significant predictors of level of trust in CPS, a stepwise regression was conducted with level of trust in CPS and six study variables. Regression analysis identified three significant predictors of level of trust in CPS: attendance in boarding school as a child, cultural orientation, and receiving public assistance. A history of attending boarding school had the most explanatory power. Notably, education and indirect experience with CPS were not significantly related to perceptions.

Implications Study findings are instructive and point to the need for community education about child protective services. These efforts must take into consideration the factors that influence levels of trust in CPS including attendance in boarding school, level of cultural orientation, and experience with public assistance. It is also imperative that child welfare workers team with Native American ethnic media and Native social service agencies in these efforts. In addition to outreach, child welfare workers need to help break down barriers of trust for parents by providing culturally appropriate and accessible services. Importantly, any work with AI/AN communities must be sensitive to the socio-historical context of child welfare in Native communities as well as the likely reluctance of Native parents to access CPS if necessary.