Research Question
What are the barriers to implementing practices and policies that reduce racial disproportionality in the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS)?
This project explores the barriers to reducing racial disproportionality in Los Angeles County’s child welfare system by analyzing data collected through interviews, focus group discussions, and document analysis. The research aims to identify obstacles to implementing policies and practices designed to address the overrepresentation of Black Children in the system.
About Barriers
This report analyzes current barriers to preventing and reducing longstanding racial disproportionality in the child welfare system, specifically focusing on Black children and families. The core of this report utilizes structural competency and anti-racist frameworks with an emphasis on dismantling racial bias and racist policies and practices. The analysis of barriers is based on the multiple perspectives of professionals working within the child welfare system and other child-serving systems and is informed by literature on the same.
Based on the results of qualitative analyses from key informant interviews and focus group discussions, this report includes an overview of six key themes that highlight the barriers to preventing and reducing racial disproportionality of Black youth in the Los Angeles County child welfare system. These barriers continue to perpetuate racial disparities for Black children in the child welfare system and related systems across LA County. Finally, this report provides recommendations to overcome the barriers to reducing persistent racial disproportionality in LA County's child welfare system.