title: Taking action on racial disproportionality in the child welfare system.
abstract: Mirroring national trends, children of color in Washington state's King County are overrepresented at every point in the child welfare system and fare worse by most measures than are Caucasian children. The King County Coalition on Racial Disproportionality was formed to reduce and ultimately eliminate racial disproportionality in the county's child welfare system. The research-based strategies implemented to address the issue focused on children in care longer than two years. They included participation in the Breakthrough Series Collaborative on Racial Disproportionality, implementation of benchmark hearings, and development of Champions for Permanence. Now in the beginning stages, perhaps the most significant success is heightened awareness within the community of the disparate outcomes for children of color in the child welfare system.
authors.affiliation: King County Superior Court, Seattle, Washington, USA.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Jackie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Buchanan
authors.forename: Lyman
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Legters
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000941:ethics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002669:Child Welfare / Q000941:ethics*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D005581:Foster Home Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011287:Prejudice; D012947:Social Work / Q000458:organization & administration; D014861:Washington; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data