Name: To transform child welfare, take race out of the equation
Uploaded: 2018-08-21T19:44:43Z
Duration: 7 min 31 s
Description: In this eye-opening talk about the impact of race and neighborhood on foster-care decisions, social worker Jessica Pryce shares a promising solution to help child welfare agencies make bias-free assessments about when to remove children from their families. "Let's work together to build a system that wants to make families stronger instead of pulling them apart," Pryce says.

Jessica Pryce: To transform child welfare, take race out of the equation

To transform child welfare, take race out of the equation

In this eye-opening talk about the impact of race and neighborhood on foster-care decisions, social worker Jessica Pryce shares a promising solution to help child welfare agencies make bias-free assessments about when to remove children from their families. "Let's work together to build a system that wants to make families stronger instead of pulling them apart," Pryce says.

Decisions to remove children from their homes often depend on race and neighborhood, not just the facts of a case. Black children are four times more likely than white children to be removed and spend longer in foster care. By stripping identifying details from case reviews, one county reduced the percentage of Black children entering foster care from 57 percent to 21 percent in five years. Tackling hidden bias can lead to safer, fairer outcomes and stronger families.