Disparities in Child Welfare: Considering the Implementation of Differential Response

Published by the National Quality Improvement Center on Differential Response in Child Protective Services (QIC-DR), this issue brief seeks to explore the ways in which a differential response-organized Child Protection System (CPS) might help to mitigate disparate outcomes in child welfare while highlighting current gaps in knowledge and indicating areas for further research. It is built upon discussions started at the QIC-DR sponsored Information Summit on Disproportionality in March 2009 and describes the relevant issues related to disproportionality and disparities in current child welfare practice.

This issue brief is the third in a series and was funded by a grant of the Children’s Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of the QIC-DR. This resource was authored by Heather Allan, MSW, and Michelle Howard, MS, LPC. October 2013