Session: How Child Welfare's Dual Mandate Reproduces Sites of Everyday Bordering and Racial Surveillance in Canada (Society for Social Work and Research 29th Annual Conference)

The papers in this symposium collectively address the multifaceted challenges and systemic inequities faced by Black and racialized families within Canada's child protection systems (CPS). The pervasive overrepresentation and disparate treatment of Indigenous, Black, and racialized children within Canadian child welfare systems have led to calls for systemic reform and greater consultation with racialized, immigrant, and Indigenous communities. While the policing of racialized families through CPS is deeply rooted in Canada′s settler colonial history, the growth in precarious immigration presents new challenges for non-citizen families whose risk for detention and deportation is compounded by surveillance and potential family separation through CPS involvement. Through qualitative interviews with social workers, first voice and legal advocates, and community-based service providers, these studies shed light on the intersecting dynamics of systemic racism, immigration policies, and organizational structures, perpetuating harm and cycles of mistrust and marginalization.

Bhuyan et al. examine sites of everyday bordering in the context of child welfare′s dual mandate to protect children from maltreatment and ensure their well-being. Through a critical discourse analysis of in-depth interviews with front-line CPS workers and supervisors, the authors consider how forms of passive and active "racial ignorance" reinforce the policing of racialized immigrants who are noncitizens.

Edwards examines child welfare professionals' interactions with Black families in Ontario who are unnecessarily investigated for suspected child maltreatment. Study findings reveal deep-rooted mistrust and fear among Black families entangled in cycles of child welfare surveillance and intervention.

King et al. focus on the pivotal role of supervision in shaping decision-making and practice with Black families within Ontario's child welfare system. Their findings underscore the influence of supervisors on workers' experiences, highlighting the significance of the worker-supervisor relationship, the impact of having Black supervisors, and strategies for navigating practice with Black families.

Kyte et al. explore the role of Black service providers across Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta in fostering accountability and reform within the child welfare system, revealing three distinct models of Black community accountability shaped by provincial contexts and acknowledgment of race and anti-Black racism. Findings highlight the necessity of culturally adapted services, proximity, and agency of the Black community within the system to effectively address systemic biases and advocate for self-governance in child welfare.

While this symposium will focus on child protection systems in the Canadian context, we invite cross-national dialogue on how child protection systems police immigrant families in settler colonial states across the world, towards advancing anti-carceral and abolitionist approaches to ensuring child and family well-being for all.