New tools and analyses for reducing disproportionality in child welfare and juvenile justice. Afterword

This special issue moves us forward in the discussion on disproportionality and disparate outcomes and in the identification and implementation of strategies and solutions. What is clear from this journal's articles is that addressing the disparities of children of color in foster care will require that we take an approach that is comprehensive and inclusive to allow us get to the root causes and create real sustainable change. This means we have to address the issue not only inside child welfare but across all systems and institutions that touch the lives of children and families; not only from the perspective of the child's well being but also from the perspective of the family's well being; and not only on the local level but also on the state and federal levels through policy change that aligns with our goals to keep all children safe by strengthening families. As the articles indicate, if we are to achieve any measure of success, we must build our efforts and strategies on a foundation that embraces and encourages an integrated response. Too often child welfare and other child-serving agencies address the needs of children on a very individual basis, outside the context of their families. That is the way the system is set up. However, to improve outcomes for all children, including children of color, we have to change our paradigm from that of child welfare to that of family well being, always seeing children in the context of their families; families in the context of their communities; and any intervention in the context of an integrated family and community support network. For example, addressing child neglect associated with poverty issues requires that we not only address the needs of that child or poor families, but we must also ultimately take actions to address the needs of the poor communities in which those children and families are trying to exist. Such an integrated response leads us to acknowledge the interconnectedness of children, families and their communities and to design strategies of intervention with an understanding that only when we address causative factors across each of these three spectrums (child, family, community) can we truly create the change we seek--improved outcomes for children of color--for all children--in or at risk of entering foster care.