Racial Equity and Subsidized Guardianship: Critical Issues in Child Welfare

In December 2005, the Casey-Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) Alliance for Racial Equity, Cornerstone Consulting Group’s National Collaboration to Promote Permanency through Subsidized Guardianship, and the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) brought together a diverse group of national, state, and community child welfare advocates and practitioners as well as parents, youth, and caregivers concerned about the over-representation of and the disparities experienced by children of color in the child welfare system. Casey Family Services is a founding member of the Casey-CSSP Alliance.

The purpose of the symposium was to explore how subsidized guardianship policies and practices could help to reduce racial/ethnic disproportionality and disparities in the child welfare system while supporting a broader range of permanency options. More specifically, participants were invited to

1. Identify barriers that prevent subsidized guardianship programs from being used effectively to promote permanence for children -- particularly children of color -- and to reduce racial/ethnic disproportionality and disparities in child welfare;
2. Explore promising state efforts to expand the use of subsidized guardianship to achieve safety and permanence for children;
3. Build stronger relationships with peers from other states and communities also struggling with issues of racial/ethnic disproportionality and disparities and their impact on permanence; and
4. Determine the next steps in developing subsidized guardianship policies and practices and broader strategies that support relatives and maximize opportunities for children and families of color in culturally appropriate ways.

Based on these objectives, conference participants raised a series of important questions about how to use subsidized guardianship programs most effectively to promote permanence and reduce the over-representation of children of color in the child welfare system.

This issue brief is designed to provide a general overview of the issues that were raised by national experts at the December conference and to lay out questions that will help guide the next phase of the discussion: Developing consensus around a specific set of strategies to maximize permanence and address racial/ethnic disproportionality and disparities.

Download the issues brief.