February is Black History Month, a time to honor the strength, resilience, and contributions of Black individuals and communities. It is also a time to reflect honestly on systems that continue to create unequal outcomes.
In Kansas, efforts to understand and address racial disparities in child welfare are being led by collaborative, statewide initiatives like the Kansas Racial Equity Collaborative. This coalition brings together families, mandated reporters, child welfare workers, and human service professionals to build shared understanding, accountability, and action toward equitable outcomes for children and families of color. The Collaborative’s work acknowledges the historical and structural causes of racial inequity — including how systems rooted in white supremacy continue to shape experiences today — and prioritizes shared learning and multi-disciplinary solutions for change.
For agencies like the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) and local Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) programs, that work means more than acknowledgment. It means examining our own practices and assumptions, recognizing how we may unintentionally perpetuate disparities, and committing to system improvements grounded in racial equity and family well-being.
Understanding the Numbers — and the Work Ahead
1 in 10 Black children in America are separated from their families by the child-welfare system. In Kansas, Black children make up just 5% of population, yet they constitute 21% of youth in DCF custody.
At Douglas County CASA, we see these disparities firsthand. While Black children make up approximately 4% of the Douglas County population, they represent 24% of the children we serve in the child welfare system. This disproportionality is not the result of individual failings. It is the outcome of historical and ongoing systemic inequities that disproportionately impact Black families.
Recognizing this reality compels us to act, not just as advocates for individual children, but as partners in broader efforts to reduce harm in the child welfare system.
Moving Beyond Awareness to Action
Douglas County CASA is committed to ensuring that equity is not just a value we name, but a practice we implement. In partnership with Step Up for Kansas Kids and child welfare stakeholders statewide, we have intentionally adopted and supported approaches designed to reduce bias, strengthen family voices, and promote culturally responsive decision-making.
Team Decision Making (TDM)
Team Decision Making brings families, extended supports, and professionals together at critical decision points such as removal, placement changes, and reunification planning. By centering family voice and shared accountability, TDM helps reduce unnecessary removals and minimizes subjective decision-making that can be influenced by bias. For Black families, this collaborative approach is a critical safeguard against disproportionate system involvement.
Kansas BRAVE
Douglas County CASA has also supported Kansas BRAVE, an initiative designed to identify and reduce racial disparities across the child welfare system through data analysis, training, and policy change. Although Kansas BRAVE has recently been defunded following federal funding changes under the Trump administration, its influence remains embedded in our local practice. The principles of BRAVE — examining outcomes through a racial equity lens and holding systems accountable — continue to guide our work even without formal funding.
The Four Questions
The Four Questions framework prompts child welfare professionals to pause and reflect before making decisions that significantly impact families. These questions challenge us to consider how race, culture, trauma, and system involvement intersect. They ask whether the same decision would be made if the family were of a different race or background. This intentional pause is a powerful tool for disrupting implicit bias.
SOUL Family
SOUL Family, a youth-centered permanency option, focuses on recognizing and strengthening natural supports and kinship networks that are too frequently overlooked. By prioritizing relational connections and culturally grounded support systems, SOUL Family helps children maintain autonomy, identity, stability, and belonging while navigating the child welfare system.
The Role of Public Awareness and Education
Change does not happen within agencies alone. Real transformation requires education and awareness building among the general public. Child welfare policies and practices are shaped by community values, political will, and shared understanding of what safety and family support truly mean.
As part of our work this Black History Month and throughout the year, we commit to raising awareness about the causes and consequences of disproportionality, engaging Kansans in conversations about racial equity, and supporting broader systems change efforts led by partners like the Kansas Racial Equity Collaborative.
Celebrating What Has Worked — and What’s Next
There has been progress: collaborative practices like TDM and family-centered frameworks are showing promise in reducing unnecessary system involvement and elevating family strengths. Statewide, child welfare leaders, advocates, and practitioners are engaging in racial equity learning, data-driven decision-making, and community-led initiatives aimed at improving outcomes for children and families of color.
But more work remains. At every level, from community-based supports to state policy, we must continue the journey toward abolishing practices that perpetuate inequality and building systems that reflect dignity, justice, and opportunity for all children.
