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Jessica Pryce: To transform child welfare, take race out of the equation
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In this eye-opening talk about the impact of race and neighborhood on foster-care decisions, social worker Jessica Pryce shares a promising solution to help child welfare agencies make bias-free assessments about when to remove children from their families. "Let's work together to build a system that wants to make families stronger instead of pulling them apart," Pryce says.
Jessica Pryce - Child advocate, social scientist
Jessica Pryce creates strategies to reduce the impact of racial bias in child protective services. Full bio
Jessica Pryce creates strategies to reduce the impact of racial bias in child protective services. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
I want you to imagine that you are
a Child Protective Services worker.
a Child Protective Services worker.
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And you have to respond
to a report of child abuse.
to a report of child abuse.
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You walk into a home, unannounced,
unexpected, certainly uninvited.
unexpected, certainly uninvited.
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The first thing you see is a mattress
in the middle of the room, on the floor.
in the middle of the room, on the floor.
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Three kids lying on it, asleep.
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There's a small table nearby
with a couple of ashtrays,
with a couple of ashtrays,
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empty beer cans.
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Large rat traps are set in the corner,
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not too far from where
the kids lie asleep.
the kids lie asleep.
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So you make a note.
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A part of your job is walking
through the entire home.
through the entire home.
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So you start with the kitchen,
where there's very little food.
where there's very little food.
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You notice another mattress
in the bedroom, on the floor,
in the bedroom, on the floor,
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that the mother shares
with her infant child.
with her infant child.
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01:04
Now, generally, at this point,
two things may happen.
two things may happen.
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The children are deemed unsafe
and removed from the home,
and removed from the home,
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and placed in state custody
for a specified period of time.
for a specified period of time.
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Or the children remain with their family
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and the child welfare system
provides help and support.
provides help and support.
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When I was a Child
Protective Services worker,
Protective Services worker,
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I saw things like this all the time.
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Some far better, some far worse.
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I asked you to imagine
yourself in that home,
yourself in that home,
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because I wonder what crossed your mind.
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What guides your decisions?
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What's going to impact
your opinion of that family?
your opinion of that family?
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What race, ethnicity,
did you think the family was?
did you think the family was?
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I want you to realize
that if those children were white,
that if those children were white,
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it is more likely that their family
stays together after that visit.
stays together after that visit.
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Research done at
the University of Pennsylvania
the University of Pennsylvania
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found that white families, on average,
have access to more help and more support
have access to more help and more support
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from the child welfare system.
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And their cases are less likely
to go through a full investigation.
to go through a full investigation.
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But on the other hand,
if those kids are black,
if those kids are black,
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they are four times
more likely to be removed,
more likely to be removed,
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they spend longer periods
of time in foster care,
of time in foster care,
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and it's harder to find them
a stable foster placement.
a stable foster placement.
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Foster care is meant to be
an immediate shelter of protection
an immediate shelter of protection
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for kids who are at high risk.
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But it's also a confusing
and traumatic exit from the family.
and traumatic exit from the family.
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Research done at
the University of Minnesota
the University of Minnesota
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found that kids
who went through foster care
who went through foster care
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had more behavioral problems
and internalized issues
and internalized issues
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than kids who remain with their families
while receiving help and support.
while receiving help and support.
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The scenario I mentioned earlier
is not uncommon.
is not uncommon.
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A single mother,
living in low-income housing
living in low-income housing
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with her four children.
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And the rats make it
almost impossible to keep food,
almost impossible to keep food,
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let alone fresh food in the home.
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Does that mother deserve
to have her children taken from her?
to have her children taken from her?
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03:10
Emma Ketteringham,
a family court attorney,
a family court attorney,
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says that if you live
in a poor neighborhood,
in a poor neighborhood,
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then you better be a perfect parent.
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She says that we place unfair,
often unreachable standards
often unreachable standards
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on parents who are raising their kids
with very little money.
with very little money.
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And their neighborhood and ethnicity
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impact whether or not
their kids are removed.
their kids are removed.
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In the two years I spent
on the front lines of child welfare,
on the front lines of child welfare,
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I made high-stakes decisions.
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And I saw firsthand
how my personal values impacted my work.
how my personal values impacted my work.
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Now, as social work faculty
at Florida State University,
at Florida State University,
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I lead an institute
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that curates the most innovative
and effective child welfare research.
and effective child welfare research.
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And research tells us that there are
twice as many black kids in foster care,
twice as many black kids in foster care,
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twenty-eight percent,
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than there are in the general
population, 14 percent.
population, 14 percent.
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And although there are
several reasons why,
several reasons why,
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I want to discuss one reason today:
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implicit bias.
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Let's start with "implicit."
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It's subconscious,
something you're not aware of.
something you're not aware of.
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Bias -- those stereotypes and attitudes
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that we all have
about certain groups of people.
about certain groups of people.
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So, implicit bias is what lurks
in the background
in the background
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of every decision that we make.
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So how can we fix it?
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I have a promising solution
that I want to share.
that I want to share.
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Now, in almost every state,
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there are high numbers of black kids
going into foster care.
going into foster care.
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But data revealed that Nassau County,
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a community in New York,
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had managed to decrease
the number of black kids being removed.
the number of black kids being removed.
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And in 2016, I went
into that community with my team
into that community with my team
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and led a research study,
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discovering the use
of blind removal meetings.
of blind removal meetings.
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This is how it works.
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05:02
A case worker responds
to a report of child abuse.
to a report of child abuse.
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They go out to the home,
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but before the children are removed,
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the case worker
must come back to the office
must come back to the office
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and present what they found.
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But here's the distinction:
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When they present to the committee,
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they delete names, ethnicity,
neighborhood, race,
neighborhood, race,
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all identifiable information.
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They focus on what happened,
family strength, relevant history
family strength, relevant history
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and the parents' ability
to protect the child.
to protect the child.
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With that information,
the committee makes a recommendation,
the committee makes a recommendation,
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never knowing the race of the family.
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Blind removals have made
a drastic impact in that community.
a drastic impact in that community.
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In 2011, 57 percent of the kids
going into foster care were black.
going into foster care were black.
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But after five years of blind removals,
that is down to 21 percent.
that is down to 21 percent.
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05:54
(Applause)
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Here's what we learned
from talking to some of the case workers.
from talking to some of the case workers.
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"When a family has a history
with the department,
with the department,
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many of us hold that history against them,
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even if they're trying
to do things differently."
to do things differently."
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"When I see a case from a certain
apartment building,
apartment building,
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neighborhood or zip code,
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I just automatically think the worst."
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"Child welfare is very subjective,
because it's an emotional field.
because it's an emotional field.
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There's no one who doesn't have
emotions around this work.
emotions around this work.
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And it's very hard to leave
all of your stuff at the door
all of your stuff at the door
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when you do this work.
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So let's take the subjectivity
of race and neighborhood out of it,
of race and neighborhood out of it,
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and you might get different outcomes."
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Blind removals seem to be
bringing us closer
bringing us closer
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to solving the problem of implicit bias
in foster-care decisions.
in foster-care decisions.
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My next step is figuring out
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how to use artificial intelligence
and machine learning
and machine learning
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to bring this project to scale
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and make it more accessible
to other states.
to other states.
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I know we can transform child welfare.
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We can hold organizations accountable
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to developing the social consciousness
of their employees.
of their employees.
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We can hold ourselves accountable
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to making sure our decisions
are driven by ethics and safety.
are driven by ethics and safety.
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Let's imagine a child welfare system
that focuses on partnering with parents,
that focuses on partnering with parents,
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empowering families,
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and no longer see poverty as failure.
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Let's work together to build a system
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that wants to make families stronger
instead of pulling them apart.
instead of pulling them apart.
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Thank you.
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(Applause) (Cheering)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jessica Pryce - Child advocate, social scientistJessica Pryce creates strategies to reduce the impact of racial bias in child protective services.
Why you should listen
Jessica Pryce curates child welfare research that focuses on answering legislative questions and informing social policy. She has conducted research at the state and national level while publishing and presenting her work nationally and internationally. Her research has focused on the training and education of the workforce, racial disparity in child welfare decisions, and the disproportionality in our country's foster care system. Pryce is executive director of a research center at Florida State University
After earning her PhD at Howard University and working in New York state for two years, Pryce was appointed in 2016 the new Executive Director of the Florida Institute for Child Welfare, where she mobilizes social scientists devoted to improving the intractable issues that have negatively impacted the lives of vulnerable children and their families. She is currently engaged in a multi-year project focused on illuminating the experiences of black parents as they matriculate through child protective services. That same year, Pryce published an article illuminating strategies for the promotion of racial equity in a community on Long Island, NY.
In 2018, she was selected as a TED Resident. During the residency, she worked to disseminate strategies to child welfare agencies with the goal of their adopting Blind Removals, a racial equity strategy in child protection. Understanding the negative impact of removing children from their parents unnecessarily, Pryce has also written on the lingering, historical trauma of sanctioned family separations in the US.
Jessica Pryce | Speaker | TED.com