PORTLAND, Ore., Sep 29, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Black and American-Indian
children are more likely to be placed in foster care and to remain wards of the
state longer than whites, an Oregon study finds.
Researchers at Portland State University tracked 54,105 child-abuse reports from
2008 and 11,219 children who were in foster care for some period between Oct. 1,
2008, and March 31, 2009, The (Portland, Ore.) Oregonian reported. They found
disparities among ethnic groups in a number of areas.
For example, suspected abuse in Indian and black families was more likely to be
reported than in white ones, but authorities were less likely to investigate
abuse in Indian families. Suspected abuse in Hispanic and Asian families is more
likely to be investigated.
While black and Indian children were likely to remain in foster care for years
once they were in the system, Hispanic children were usually back home within a
year.
Experts say rates of child abuse and neglect are about the same in all ethnic
groups, although they may be aggravated by poverty.
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