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

• Published in: Journal of emotional and behavioral disorders Vol. 7; no. 2; pp. 72 - 82
• Main Authors: McCabe, Kristen, Yeh, May, Hough, Richard L., Landsverk, John, Hurlburt, Michael S., Wells Culver, Shirley, Reynolds, Beth
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thousand Oaks, CA Sage Publications 01.07.1999; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: African American Children; Behavior Disorders; California (San Diego County); Child Welfare; Cultural Influences; Delivery Systems; Disproportionate Representation; Drug Therapy; Emotional Disturbances; Enrollment; Ethnic differences; Ethnic Groups; Incidence; Juvenile Justice; Mental Health Programs; Minority Group Children; Modeling (Psychology); Pacific Americans; Pacific Islanders; Participant Characteristics; Physical Health; Psychotherapy; Public Schools; Racial Differences; Resistance (Psychology); San Diego county; Service provision; Social care; Social Services; Socioeconomic Influences; Socioeconomic Status; USA; Whites; Young people; Youth; California
• ISSN: 1063-4266; 1538-4799
• DOI: 10.1177/106342669900700202

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.