COMMITTED TO RACIALLY EQUITABLE
INSTITUTIONAL TRANSFORMATION
The Current Situation
According to the Department of Children and Families (DCF) website, as of 2023, African American, Hispanic/Latino, and other non-white children face a disproportionate likelihood—over two times higher than their Caucasian counterparts—of being substantiated for maltreatment, removed from their homes, and spending extended periods in care.
These pervasive disparities throughout every stage of the child welfare process, particularly affecting Hispanic/Latino and Black/African American children, highlight systemic inequities that demand critical examination and comprehensive action to address the underlying causes and mitigate these imbalances.
Our Goal:
The RJI will lead the advancement of DCF’s racial justice mandate by creating opportunities for training and support to community providers to sustain equity in the delivery of services to children and families throughout Connecticut.
How The Racial Justice Institute is implementing change:
Focus Groups/Listening Sessions
Facilitate in-person or virtual meeting spaces where families and youth with lived experience are able to provide feedback and input on desired improvements for outcomes. Upon completion of focus groups, RJI will facilitate quarterly learning collaboratives for an open audience of community providers to include topics identified in focus groups.
We will conduct and/or recommend training to promote an anti-racist framework and provide targeted support to organizations, addressing disparities in how they provide racially equitable assistance. This includes focusing on areas where disproportionality has been identified in Focus Groups/Listening Sessions.
Trainings
We will conduct and/or recommend training to promote an anti-racist framework and provide targeted support to organizations, addressing disparities in how they provide racially equitable assistance. This includes focusing on areas where disproportionality has been identified by Listening Sessions.
Our Partners
SEET Consultants
