Racial/Ethnic Representation Across Five Public Sectors of Care for Youth

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
We examined service representation patterns of four racial/ethnic groups (African Americans, Asian/ Pacific Islander Americans, Caucasian Americans, and Latinos) across five public youth service sectors (alcohol/drug treatment, child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health, and public school services for children with serious emotional disturbance) in San Diego County. A full enumeration of children ages 0 to 18 served by those sectors during a 6-month period was analyzed to determine representation of each racial/ethnic group. Comparison groups of San Diego children were culled from three sources: 1996 census estimates, 1996 census estimates at or below 200% of poverty level, and the 1997 San Diego County school enrollment census. Results varied by racial/ethnic group and comparison group used, indicating that race/ethnicity affects service use patterns and that socioeconomic status should be taken into consideration when examining racial/ethnic representation. When socioeconomic status was taken into account, African Americans and Caucasian Americans were overrepresented across most sectors, Latinos were underrepresented across all sectors, and Asian/ Pacific Islander Americans demonstrated a mixed pattern. Results are discussed in terms of methodological and policy implications.