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Who am I? Who do you think I am? Stability of racial/ethnic self-identification among youth in foster care and concordance with agency categorization

Author

Listed:
  • Schmidt, Jessica
  • Dubey, Shanti
  • Dalton, Larry
  • Nelson, May
  • Lee, Junghee
  • Oberweiser Kennedy, Molly
  • Kim-Gervey, Connie
  • Powers, Laurie
  • Geenen, Sarah

Abstract

While it has been well documented that racial and ethnic disparities exist for children of color in child welfare, the accuracy of the race and ethnicity information collected by agencies has not been examined, nor has the concordance of this information with youth self-report. This article addresses a major gap in the literature by examining 1) the racial and ethnic self-identification of youth in foster care, and the rate of agreement with child welfare and school categorizations; 2) the level of concordance between different agencies (school and child welfare); and 3) the stability of racial and ethnic self-identification among youth in foster care over time. Results reveal that almost 1 in 5 youth change their racial identification over a one-year period, high rates of discordance exist between the youth self-report of Native American, Hispanic and multiracial youth and how agencies categorize them, and a greater tendency for the child welfare system to classify a youth as White, as compared to school and youth themselves. Information from the study could be used to guide agencies towards a more youth-centered and flexible approach in regard to identifying, reporting and affirming youth's evolving racial and ethnic identity.

Suggested Citation

  • Schmidt, Jessica & Dubey, Shanti & Dalton, Larry & Nelson, May & Lee, Junghee & Oberweiser Kennedy, Molly & Kim-Gervey, Connie & Powers, Laurie & Geenen, Sarah, 2015. "Who am I? Who do you think I am? Stability of racial/ethnic self-identification among youth in foster care and concordance with agency categorization," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 61-67.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:56:y:2015:i:c:p:61-67
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.06.011
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lu, Yuhwa Eva & Landsverk, John & Ellis-Macleod, Elissa & Newton, Rae & Ganger, William & Johnson, Ivory, 2004. "Race, ethnicity, and case outcomes in child protective services," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 447-461, May.
    2. Boehmer, U. & Kressin, N.R. & Berlowitz, D.R. & Christiansen, C.L. & Kazis, L.E. & Jones, J.A., 2002. "Self-reported vs administrative race/ethnicity data and study results," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 92(9), pages 1471-1473.
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    1. Blakeslee, Jennifer E. & Powers, Laurie E. & Geenen, Sarah & Schmidt, Jessica & Nelson, May & Fullerton, Ann & George, Kevin & McHugh, Elizabeth & Bryant, Mary, 2020. "Evaluating the My Life self-determination model for older youth in foster care: Establishing efficacy and exploring moderation of response to intervention," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).

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