Beyond Child Protection: Afro-Caribbean Service Users of Child Welfare

Abstract

The literature on the overrepresentation of Black children in the child welfare system is well established, yet little is known about the experiences of Afro-Caribbean families as service users. This article draws on qualitative data from in-depth interviews with Afro-Caribbean mothers and youths to understand how they perceive and experience the child welfare system. The analyses were informed by the theoretical frameworks of critical race theory and critical race feminism. Findings indicate that Afro-Caribbean service users are caught in a complex institutional web of racism, classism, and sexism, which marginalizes and criminalizes them.