What is the African American communities' experience in the public Child Welfare System in the United States? A secondary data analysis of the NSCAW study

African American children are over represented in the Child Welfare System; a violation of fairness and equity. This study describes the ethnic proportions of African American compared to other ethnic groups in public child welfare systems across the United States. This study is a secondary data analysis using the first descriptive study of child and adolescent well-being. The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well Being representative sample yielded the following results: (1) African American children are overrepresented in public child welfare; (2) African Americans who are investigated and remain in their home are more likely to receive services and less likely to have their cases closed from supervision; (3) More African American children who are investigated by public child welfare are placed in out of home care; although, (4) African American children are equally likely to be placed in kinship care as other children in foster care. This study also describes one Los Angeles African American community, Compton, response to the inequality with Point of Engagement (POE). POE differentiates low from high risk families and connects at risk families to community partners in the hopes of preventing placements and sustaining healthier families.