What Did Child Welfare Learn from 2020 - upENDing Systemic Racism

Child Welfare Information Gateway

During 2020, the racial disparities and inequities rampant across the Unites States were magnified. The year also amplified the call to review many of the nation's social systems, including those involved with health care, criminal justice, economics, and education. The child welfare system as it stands is also in need of serious introspection. "What Did Child Welfare Learn From 2020 – upENDing Systemic Racism" continues the conversation around the roots of systemic racism within child welfare, how agencies can objectively review their policies and approaches, and the rise of a movement to abolish the current system in favor of one that provides greater support to families. This episode is part of a series that examines what the child welfare field learned during 2020. It features members of the Center for the Study of Social Policy who are working with the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work to lead the upEND movement. upEND seeks to end the practice of State-sanctioned separation of children from their families as a response to social problems like food insecurity, poverty, lack of affordable and safe housing, and lack of meaningful prevention services. upEND also seeks to reimagine how we support and serve families and eliminate the root causes that create conditions for harm to occur.