Emerging Strategies to Address the Needs of Latino Children in the Child Welfare System: Innovations and Advances in California

Background: Latino children represent the fastest growing child population in the United States.  Concurrent with this growth, the proportion of Latino children in the child welfare system has increased. National data indicate that the proportion of victims of maltreatment who are Latino increased from 14% in 2000 to 21.4% in 2010.  Similarly, the proportion of children in foster care who are Latino increased from 15% to 21% over the same period. In addition to cultural and linguistic issues, Latino children and families may also present with complex immigration issues.  Although most Latino children are born in the United States and are U.S. citizens, more than half of Latino children have at least one foreign-born parent.  In California, Latino children represent 54% of children in the state and 48% of children in foster care.  To respond to their unique needs, the California Department of Social Services established the Latino Practice Advisory Committee, consisting of state and national experts, to build the capacity of county child welfare systems to facilitate culturally responsive services.  This presentation will present the results of a survey of California county child welfare administrators to identify emerging and innovative strategies that have been implemented to respond to this growing population.

Methods: Telephone interviews were conducted with county child welfare administrators in 50 of 58 California counties. Information was gathered on practices and policies that have been implemented to address the needs of Latino children and families. Policy documents were obtained and analyzed to identify core components across counties.  To facilitate dissemination, all identified strategies and associated materials were made available via an interactive website. The site also includes interactive tools to allow users to view administrative data on Latino children within their jurisdictions to make decisions on necessary points of intervention.

Findings: Practices implemented include: 1) cultural mediator programs, including cultural brokers, promotoras, and birth parent mentors, 2) culturally adapted parent training programs, including Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and SafeCare, and 3) cultural adaptations to child welfare practice models, including Differential Response and Safety Organized Practice.  Additional strategies include dedicated staff with specialized training in issues that may impact Latino families, recruitment of bilingual and bicultural staff, partnerships with community organizations, and culturally responsive adoptive and foster parent recruitment.  Policies include Memoranda of Understanding with foreign consulates; placement, reunification, or adoption of children with parents or relatives in foreign countries; placement of children with undocumented relatives; permanency planning with parents of dependent children who reside in foreign countries; and immigration relief options for undocumented children.

Implications: As the Latino population continues to grow in the United States and in the child welfare system, strategies that respond to their unique needs are needed to facilitate positive outcomes. In California, where Latino children represent the largest proportion of children in the child welfare system, a number of promising and innovative strategies have emerged to facilitate culturally responsive services.  These strategies and associated dissemination materials may serve as resources for other states as they build their capacity to serve this growing population.