Anti-Black Racism In Child Welfare

Black children are over-represented in Toronto’s Children’s Aid Society (CAS). A variety of academic of literature points to racism, specifically anti-Black racism, as the reason for

such high rates of apprehension of Black children. Indeed the Government of Ontario (2017) found the need for training on anti-Black racism to combat structural oppression. While the literature acknowledges that anti-Black racism is a major contributing factor to the overrepresentation of Black children in-care, there is a gap present about how, or if conversations about anti-Black racism are occurring within CAS. This study highlights the voices of three self-identified critical frontline workers at CAS to better understand how and if conversations about anti-Black racism occur, as well as what kinds of barriers may exist to having such conversations within CAS.