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| Conference Overview |
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The Black Administrators in Child Welfare Inc. (BACW) invites proposals for workshops to be presented at the BACW annual national conference to be held in Chicago, Illinois on May 27-29, 2010. Our theme for this very important conference is “The Power of Change: Reducing Disproportionality” For almost four decades, BACW has developed strategies to improve the child welfare system’s response to African American children and families and to increase the number of Black administrators in the field of child welfare. Relentless efforts have been made to influence policy, practice and the hiring of African American decision makers at all levels of the child welfare system. However, there is still much to be done to reduce racial disproportionality and treatment disparities for children of color who come to attention of child protection agencies.
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| African American children are tragically overrepresented in the child welfare system today. Even when families and children of color have the very same characteristics as white families there is differential treatment, as evidenced by the research. Also, there is evidence of differential treatment at virtually all points in the child welfare decision making process. A number of foundations, national organizations, state and local child welfare agencies have acknowledged the existence of this problem and have begun to make changes in policies, practices, and methods being used to distribute resources, having some impact on reducing disproportionality and treatment disparities. |
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| This conference is an opportunity for presenters to describe demonstrated or potentially effective strategies, programs, and models related to policy development and promising practices such as data collection, health, mental health, and behavioral health programs; alcohol, drug and violence prevention; youth involvement; education and employment; strengths based child protective services programs; and other areas related to kinship care, foster care, adoptions and community-based prevention that impact the reduction of the disproportionate number of children of color in the child welfare system and treatment disparities. |
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