On Thursday, July 30, the Black Administrators in Child Welfare (BACW) held a virtual call-to-action summit in which prominent African-American thought leaders and their White allies —representing the fields of education, criminal justice, behavioral health, faith and community, and income and housing — discussed strategic ways to dismantle the racism that plagues our systems and in turn, prove to have detrimental outcomes for Black and Brown children and families in child welfare.

The thought-provoking summit, themed “Deconstructing Child Welfare Oppression: Renewing Hope Through a Racialized Child Well-Being Lens,” allowed for an open, honest and “straight talk” conversation about the historical oppression families of color continue to face as a result of the continual reframing of slavery in policy that works to structurally keep them oppressed.

The first product of the summit is this Comprehensive Summary Report, a narrative summary divided into six strategic sections that readers can use as a reference guide to examine current policy and practice, as well as a roadmap for strategic planning or as a starting point to begin these critical conversations. These sections include:

The report additionally includes a preview of the accompanying Racial Equity Impact Toolkit,  the second product of the convening. We request only one thing in your use of this resource: honesty. If child welfare professionals do not honestly believe that racism in the system is a reality that has inflicted harm on Black and Brown children, no resource or toolkit will change the current state of affairs.