Aren't They Just Black Kids? Biracial Children in the Child Welfare System

Purpose: The end of anti-miscegenation laws in the United States has changed the categorizations of race to include “interracial” and contributed to an increase of biracial children born to White mothers. Institutional racism and the American ideal of the monoracial family place interracial families at risk for becoming isolated and marginalized, two factors which have been found to contribute to involvement in child welfare services. However, there is little research about biracial children in child welfare services and the child and parent factors that may lead to entry into care. The current study aimed to better understand this issue by answering the following questions: (1) Are biracial children referred to child welfare services at a rate proportionate to White and African-American children? (2) Are the risks assessed for biracial children and parents the same as those assessed for White and African-American children? (3) Are biracial children investigated at the same rate as White and African-American children?

Method: All children who entered the child welfare system in a large northeastern county in 2006 were included in the sampling frame. A stratified sample with strata defined by gender, race, age, and source of report (Child Protective Services or General Protective Services) resulted in a sample of 460 children. Data sources included administrative and demographic data, and referral and risk assessment information collected from case files. To understand rates of disproportionality in the county's child welfare system, a Disproportionality Index was calculated. Bivariate chi-square tests of association, and multivariable, logistic regression analyses were used to predict the likelihood of case investigation given child race and other child and family characteristics.

Results: Biracial children were referred to the child welfare system four times more than White children. A significantly higher proportion of biracial children were rated as having moderate to high risk in terms of caregiver age, and physical, intellectual and emotional status, compared with African-American and White children. Parents of biracial children had the highest rates of moderate to high-risk parenting skills and knowledge. African-American children have the highest rates of moderate to high-risk ratings regarding previous abuse or neglect. Child race significantly predicted case investigation, with biracial children significantly more likely to be investigated than either White or African-American children.

Conclusions: The population of biracial children in the U.S. is growing, and there is evidence that interracial families may have unique needs. The field of child welfare needs to move beyond the belief that biracial children are “just Black kids” and additional research is greatly needed to better understand the needs of this population. Interviewing parents to get firsthand accounts of their experiences parenting biracial children, and how they become involved with the child welfare system, could further illustrate some of the strengths and challenges and provide information to inform existing interventions. Studies using well constructed national samples that include a variety of family and racial and ethnic compositions as well as analyses of state child welfare databases would better inform understanding of the referral, investigation and service patterns of interracial families.