View article

Racial/ethnic disparities are persistent in referrals and removals of children into child welfare systems. Yet, less is known about disparities in reunification, and how system factors may contribute to more equitable outcomes for families of color.

This study examined racial/ethnic disparities in reunification rates across U.S. child welfare systems controlling for child- and system-factors.

Data for this study came from the 2017 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS). We utilized a subsample of n = 284,382 children ages 0–5.

We used a bottom-up model building-approach to examine child- and system-factors associated with reunification. A series of multilevel models were run.

Less than 3% of the variance in reunification occurred between state child welfare systems. Native American children had lower odds of reunification than …