Pitt's Center on Race and Social Problems to Tackle Race And Child Welfare Issues at Summer Institute

PITTSBURGH-Is there an over-representation of minority children in our state child welfare system? If so, what research, policy changes, or practices could be taken to address that problem? These questions will be among those addressed at a Race and Child Welfare Summer Institute at the University of Pittsburgh's Center on Race and Social Problems (CRSP) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 14 on the 20th floor of the Cathedral of Learning, 4200 Fifth Ave., Oakland.

CRSP has invited a group of scholars and heads of social service organizations to review the extent and causes of the prevalence of minority children in the regional, state, and national welfare systems as well as to address racial inequities. The goal of the institute is to facilitate interaction, discussion, and collaboration between the academic and social service communities.

Speakers and their topics include:

9:10-10:10 a.m.

Disproportionality: Overview, Research Methods

Ruth McCoy, research professor and the Ruby Lee Piester Centennial Professor Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin;

10:10-11:10 a.m.

Disproportionality: Recent Findings

Robert Hill, senior researcher at Westat Corporation in Rockville, Md.;

11:20 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Current Challenges and Initiatives

Carol Wilson Spigner, codirector of the Field Center for Children's Policy Practice and Research at the University of Pennsylvania;

1-1:55 p.m.

Race and Permanence

Helen Calahane, clinical associate professor and coprincipal investigator of the Child Welfare Education and Research Programs in Pitt's School of Social Work; and

2:05-3:35 p.m.

The Pittsburgh Region: Local Issues and Police and Practice

Walter Smith, executive director of Family Resources of Pennsylvania, and Marcia Sturdivant, deputy director of Allegheny County's Department of Human Services and administrator of the Office of Children, Youth, and Families.

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