1. Objectifs

Intentions :
The aim of this study is to better understand the association between race and family reunification outcomes in Québec.

Questions/Hypothèses :
This study «seeks to examine the following research questions: 1a) What is the duration of time that Black children spend in out-of-home placement? 1b) Does time spent in placement vary according to race? 2a) Is race associated with family reunification after controlling for family, child welfare service, and socioeconomic characteristics?» (p. 4)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«The present study uses secondary clinical-administrative data from a child welfare agency in Montreal, Quebec. The dataset provided anonymized longitudinal information on each child’s experience with protection services, in addition to a number of covariates associated with their service involvement. The second data source was extracted from the 2006 Canadian Census and was used to develop a composite index of socioeconomic disadvantage (see Esposito et al., 2017).» (p. 2) «[T]he total sample of children placed in initial out-of-placement was N = 1318.» (p. 2)

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«[T]his study found that Black children in Montreal, Quebec experience longer lengths of stay in out-of-home placement, and are less likely to reunify, compared to White and other visible minority children […].» (p. 6) «These differences in reunification outcomes may be explained by several characteristics that differentiate Black from other children. Black children are placed in care at a younger age, and as a result, reflect different reasons for investigations from the other categories of children. They have the highest proportions of children being investigated for neglect and parental high-risk lifestyle concerns, both of which have been shown to significantly decrease the likelihood of reunification compared to other forms of maltreatment (McDonald et al., 2007; Shaw, 2010). While a higher proportion of Black children are investigated for physical abuse (Lavergne et al., 2008), [the] findings suggest that concerns for neglect rather than physical abuse negatively impact their odds for reunification. Compared to the other racial categories, Black children had the highest proportion of children placed in foster homes and on average experienced more placement instability […]. Lastly, it’s important to note that socioeconomic disadvantage did not appear to influence reunification outcomes for our sample and that Black children were less likely to reunify even after controlling for this variable […].» (p. 6)