'the Duty to Report or to Support'?: Investigating the Experiences of Ontario Child Welfare Professionals' Working with Black Families Reported for Allegations of Physical Abuse

Background and Purpose

Presently, allegations of physical abuse are the primary concern for Black families who are referred to Ontario’s child welfare system. However, 94% of substantiated maltreatment investigations involving Black and White children have no documented cases of physical harm. Currently, child protection workers are left to adjudicate what is physical abuse and what is not. However, child protection workers may be confused about how to determine what constitutes physical abuse as research has demonstrated that substantiated physical abuse does not consistently match the legal limit. Given that physical abuse is the most frequent allegation reason against Black families and that child protection workers are not able to consistently interpret physical abuse, this is a critical area in need of exploration. This study explores workers’ understanding of physical abuse and how this influences their service dispositions for Black families. The research questions that guided this study are: 1) What are workers’ experiences working with Black families who are investigated for allegations of physical abuse? And 2) how are workers’ supporting Black families referred for physical abuse allegations?

Methods

The empirical data for this study was collected as part of the Mapping Disparities for Black Families Project (MDBF). MDBF is a three-year research study aimed to better understand child protection workers’ experiences and decision-making processes regarding Black families navigating Ontario child welfare agencies. Using interpretative phenomenology, the objective of this research project is to map the practical ways in which anti-Black racism manifests across the child welfare continuum to create racial disparities for Black families. Interpretative phenomenological analysis engages the researcher in an analytical process whereby they are trying to gain an ‘insider perspective,’ utilizing in-depth qualitative analysis. This study explored the experiences of child protection workers, agency leaders, lawyers, and equity, diversity, and inclusion specialists who participate in decision-making across the child welfare service continuum. This study analyzes fifty-nine in-depth semi-structured interviews and five focus groups comprised of 28 participants.

Results

Three main themes were identified: 1) The impacts of colonialism, culture, and parental values as drivers of the child welfare system: “This can be done out of love”; 2) educators reporting the “threat” of physical discipline: "Didn't you ask them what they mean?”; and 3) pushing back against school referrals: “the duty to support.”. Many child protection professionals expressed that they were conscious of the connection between physical discipline, colonialism, and anti-Black racism. However, many professionals also revealed there were stereotypical and racist views that shaped their interactions with Black families. Additionally, child welfare professionals highlighted that they were disproportionately receiving referrals from educators that were not child protection concerns.

Conclusion and Implications

The study findings highlight a clear need to distinguish between reportable maltreatment concerns and issues that are better supported by community resources to reduce the referral disparities for Black families. Recommendations for policy and practice include: 1) Identifying support mechanisms to circumvent child welfare involvement; 2) Communicating with Black parents in efforts to reduce unneeded referrals; 3) amending legislation to clarify referrers’ duty to support.