"Why do we have to make you comfortable to deal with this?" Lessons learned from a racial justice program with child welfare managers

Background: Systemic racism has significantly impacted child welfare service (CWS) agencies' ability to provide equitable services to families. Little research exists regarding CWS interventions to combat these issues. Mining For Gold (MFG) is a consulting company that partners with organizations to provide space for racial justice learning.

Objective: We used mixed methods to explore the effects of MFG on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and white staff's knowledge, relationships, and attitudes regarding systemic racism and white advantage.

Participants and setting: Between 2022 and 2023, MFG services were delivered to 67 BIPOC and white CWS managers and executives.

Methods: Quantitative data came from the Racial Justice Learning Questionnaire (RJLQ). Mann-Whitney tests were used to assess differences in scores between BIPOC and white staff. Key informant interviews were conducted with a subset of MFG participants to understand MFG's facilitators and barriers related to racial justice learning.

Results: BIPOC staff (M = 15.03) had significantly lower scores on attitude factors (p ≤ 0.001) than white staff (M = 17.67). BIPOC staff (M = 23.19) also scored lower (p = .027) on relationship factors than white staff (M = 26.61). Program and organizational barriers and facilitators related to racial justice learning were identified.

Conclusions: A racial justice program may serve as an agent of change for CWS agencies. Practice suggestions include clear communication regarding expectations and accountability and white staff utilizing white advantage to advance racial justice work.