Disproportionate Representation of Minority Children in Child Welfare

Although more than half of the 500,000 children in foster care come from ethnic minority families, children from minority communities represent only two-fifths of all American children. The Casey-Center for the Study of Social Policy Alliance for Racial Equity has published a report entitled “ Synthesis of Research on Disproportionality in Child Welfare: An Update” that examines why there are so many children of color in the child welfare system and the disparities in treatment and services within the child welfare system, with a focus on the differences between blacks and whites. Research has shown that African-American families do not neglect or abuse their children more often than white families, even though they are almost twice as likely to be reported to Child Protective Services. The report finds that race was one of the factors that influenced decisions at the stages of reporting, investigation, substantiation, placement, and exit from care and that minority children have more negative experiences in the child welfare system than white children. time.

To read the Executive Summary of the report, please visit http://www.casey.org/Resources/Publications/DisproportionalityResearch.htm

To download the Report, go to http://www.casey.org/NR/rdonlyres/053CD4C6-300D-402A-8C18-7E476C929D2A/990/0226_CC_BobHillPaper_FINAL.pdf (Adobe Reader required)

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More Children and Adolescents Being Prescribed Multiple Psychiatric Drugs

An estimated 1.6 million kids have been prescribed a combination of psychiatric drugs; 160,000 were given four or more drugs at once. While researchers say that certain drugs are effective in treating mental-health problems in children and teens, there is not sufficient evidence indicating whether or not prescribing multiple drugs to young patients is worth the side effects this can cause. Side effects can include suicidal thoughts, liver and pancreas damage, rapid weight gain, and other complications.

For more information, go to http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2006/teens-prescribed-multiple.html

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Harvard Study Links Industrial Chemicals to Developmental Disorders

Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine have concluded that 202 industrial chemicals have the capacity to damage the human brain, possibly leading to developmental disorders such as Autism and mental retardation. The developing brain of a child is much more susceptible to the toxic effects of chemicals than an adult brain and researches say that chemical pollution may have already harmed the brains of millions of children worldwide. The study also found that very few of these chemicals are regulated so as to prevent this damage.

To find out more, go to http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/press/releases/press11072006.html

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Nearly Half in Treatment Have Multiple Addictions

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) says that about half of all addiction-treatment patients are addicted to both alcohol and other drugs.

According to data from the 2005 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services, 47 percent of treatment clients had addiction to both alcohol and illicit drugs, 34 percent were admitted for illicit-drug addiction only, and 19 percent were addicted to alcohol only. Researchers found that 22 percent of treatment clients in the 2005 report were being treated with methadone.

To learn more, visit http://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/advisories/0611290152.aspx

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Putting Youth Work on the Map

The Next Generation Youth Work Coalition in collaboration with The Forum for Youth Investment coordinated two surveys of youth workers to create a comprehensive picture of the youth work profession: who youth workers are, where they work, how they are supported on the job and what their aspirations are. This report captures main lessons emerging from the two studies and their implications for the field.

To read the report, go to http://www.forumfyi.org/Files/Putting_Youth_Work_on_the_Map.pdf (Adobe Reader required)

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Children's Mental Health: Facts for Policymakers

The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) has released its first fact sheet on mental health, which highlights the widespread nature of mental health problems among children and youth and the lack of adequate services. Research reveals that Latino children and youth are less likely to receive services than children and youth of other ethnic groups.

To view the fact sheet, go to http://nccp.org/pub_ucr06b.html

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Three New Wraparound Articles

The National Wraparound Initiative has three new articles in print. The first two, “Relations between program and system variables and fidelity to the wraparound process for children and families” and “Building on practice-based evidence: Using expert perspectives to define the wraparound process” were published in the November issue of Psychiatric Services. The latter article focuses on the work of the National Wraparound Initiative.

You can order free reprints of these two articles by visiting the RTC’s publications page (Search by title phrase): http://www.rtc.pdx.edu/pgPublications.php

Publisher's abstracts are available at http://psychservices.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/57/11/1579 (Walker & Bruns)

http://ps.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/57/11/1586 (Bruns, et al.)