Online Resources

Bias in Decision Making

The Lens of Implicit Bias, by Shawn C. Marsh PhD, director of NCJFCJ's Juvenile and Family Law Department, provides an overview of implicit bias
Safeguards Against Bias: Approaches compiled by National CASA CEO Michael Piraino that may help you avoid bias by engaging in critical thinking (65 KB PDF)
National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information/National Adoption Information Clearinghouse: "Assessing Disproportionality in Child Welfare"
Children's Research Center: Disproportionate Minority Representation in the Child Welfare System
US Government Accountability Office: African American Children in Foster Care
Child Welfare Information Gateway: Disproportionality section includes issues such as overrepresentation in foster care, underrepresentation in family support and family preservation services and disparities in decision-making.
- Recent Works on Racial Disproportionality in the Child Welfare System: May 2010 publication of the Child Welfare Information Gateway
Implicit Association Test: Project Implicit’s website, with research measuring bias and implicit associations as well as opportunities to take various versions of the test.
"How (Un)ethical Are You?" Article by Mahzarin R. Banaji, Max H. Bazerman and Dolly Chugh which explores four related sources of unintentionally unethical decision making: implicit bias, in-group bias, a tendency to overclaim credit and conflicts of interest.

Annie E. Casey Foundation: Undercounted, Underserved: Immigrant and Refugee Families in the Child Welfare System
American Humane Association: Social Worker Tool Kit
Immigration Options for Undocumented Immigrant Children: A collection of fact sheets on topics including Special Immigrant Juvenile Status; Violence Against Women Act; and family visas
National CASA Connection magazine Summer 2006: “Immigrant Children and Families in the Foster Care System” (2.2 MB PDF)

American Bar Association Opening Doors Project: Created to increase the legal community's awareness of LGBTQ youth in foster care and the unique issues they face and to provide the legal community with advocacy tools to successfully represent these youth
National CASA Resource Library Publication: Resources for Working with LGBTQ Youth and Families in the Foster Care System (376 KB PDF)
National CASA Connection magazine Fall 2009: "Addressing the Needs of LGBTQ Youth in Care"

National CASA Connection magazine Fall 2006: "The Interplay of Poverty and Child Welfare" (1.41 MB PDF)
Bridges Out of Poverty: A book and an approach that helps employers, community organizations, social-service agencies and individuals address poverty in a comprehensive way

National CASA Judges' Page newsletter: The Disproportionate Representation of Children of Color in Dependency Court Proceedings (346 KB PDF) describes successful projects initiated by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the National CASA Association to make their constituents aware of the issues of disproportionate representation.
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services report: Disproportionality in Child Protective Services; the Preliminary Results of Statewide Reform Efforts in Texas (1.8 MB Word doc.)
National Association of Social Workers: Institutional Racism & the Social Work Profession: A Call to Action (314 KB PDF)
"Seven Facts Volunteers Should Know When Advocating for Children of Color": Developed for CASA volunteers and program staff by the National CASA Association

Casey Family Programs—CSSP Alliance for Racial Equity reports and studies
National CASA Connection magazine Summer 2007: “Overrepresentation of Youth of Color in Foster Care” (2.9 MB PDF)
Fourth National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect (NIS-4): This report to Congress on recent research includes the latest demographics relating to disproportionality, including race and socioeconomic status.