RE: race matching and child welfare

["Lisa fontes" <lfontes@xxxxxxx>]

Even if race matching is NOT used, it would make sense to have diverse
treatment teams AT ALL LEVELS  to:
1) help colleagues educate each other about cultural issues (make ALL
workers more competent to work w people from a variety of cultures)
2) help assure that policies and procedures are fair to people from
diverse groups
3) help clients feel comfortable when working with the agency, to feel
that the agency is FOR them rather than against them
4) improve the ability of the agency to recognize and access resources
within diverse clients' families and communities (churches, community
leaders, even media).
5) Professionals from diverse backgrounds can help improve the ability
of an agency to serve families from diverse circumstances. Diverse
professionals can generate a wider range of solutions/options/
viewpoints. By diverse I am referring to gender, ethnicity, national
origin, sexual orientation, age, SES, ability, etc.

In other words, diversity is a benefit whether or not cultural matching
is used.
Lisa Fontes, Ph.D.
Springfield COllege

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu
[mailto:owner-CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu] On Behalf Of
bill higgins
Sent: Monday, December 01, 2003 12:51 PM
To: Child Maltreatment Researchers
Subject: Re: race matching and child welfare


If there is no research to support matching of clients
and workers then why is there a big push for more
African American caseworkers?  I thought this was
believed to improve outcomes for African American
children in foster care.  

Bill




--- Karen Adshead <karen@kadshead.com> wrote:
> Most of the research I have read looks at developing
> cultural competency in
> workers, not culture matching. Cultural competency
> does not assume that
> workers, by virtue of belonging to the same cultural
> contexts as their
> clients, are competent solely through their
> membership in the group. This
> assumes that there is a heterogeneity within
> culture, diversity exist within
> culture, and certainly within race. The priority
> then becomes in providing
> culturally appropriate, rather than of culturally
> specific, services to
> clients, and ensuring that a workers responses,
> interventions and planning
> are cognisant and articulate how they will consider
> and support the cultural
> identity of the child.
> 
> You might want to consider looking at matching in
> some cases. For instance,
> some First Nations communities in Canada have had
> their authority over their
> own children recognized, and have established, or
> are in the process of
> establishing, separate aboriginal child
> protection/child welfare authorities
> and services. This example of a post-colonial
> context, where there is an
> attempt to redress structural inequity and practices
> of cultural genocide
> which have occurred as a result of assimilationist
> policies in Canada.
> 
> Karen Adshead
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Bill Moore" <wmoore@cinci.rr.com>
> To: "Child Maltreatment Researchers"
> <CHILD-MALTREATMENT-RESEARCH-L@cornell.edu>
> Sent: Monday, November 24, 2003 1:27 PM
> Subject: Re: race matching and child welfare
> 
> 
> > And in fact here in Ohio the state was fined by
> the feds for this very
> > practice, extending the time significantly for
> minority children to be
> > adopted.
> >
> > bill moore
> >
> >
> > > It's illegal to consider race in making a
> placement except for the
> > > specific needs of a specific child.  That might
> actually be a violation
> > > of the law.
> > >
> > > >>> bill_higginsus@yahoo.com 11/21/03 17:02 PM
> >>>
> > > We are running a training for new workers.
> Someone
> > > asked about matching the race of the child with
> the
> > > race of the worker.  Is there any research on
> this
> > > topic?  Does it seem to make a difference?
> > >
> > > Bill Higgins
> > >
> > > __________________________________
> > > Do you Yahoo!?
> > > Free Pop-Up Blocker - Get it now http://companion.yahoo.com/
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> 


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