Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Gender, Race & Justice

Abstract

The American child welfare system intrudes on, separates, and permanently severs Black and Indigenous families at significantly higher rates than white families. It is profoundly troubling that the well-established harms associated with taking children from their homes are inflicted disproportionately on families of color. In light of the long and shameful American history of separating non-white children from their families, child welfare professionals have begun addressing racial bias in decision-making. But implicit bias training (the favored response of child welfare agencies) and efforts to make policies colorblind are not enough. True redress of the longstanding racial harms of the child welfare system requires scrutinizing the legal rules that too often stack the deck against innocent parents. Often the legal rules that cause the most harm have no explicit markers of racism. Because one of the critical aspects of addressing structural racism is recognizing that it is embedded in ways that make racist outcomes appear to be the result of neutral processes, we must vigorously reassess existing legal doctrine that disproportionately harms non-white litigants.

First Page

411

Volume

25

Publication Date

2022

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