Immigrant Children and Families and the Public Child Welfare System: Considerations for Legal Systems

• Author: Alan J. Dettlaff
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-6988.2011.01069.x
• Date: 01 January 2012
• Published date: 01 January 2012

Immigrant Children and Families and the

Public Child Welfare System:

Considerations for Legal Systems

By Alan J. Dettlaff

ABSTRACT

Recent research findings have provided new information on children of immigrants

who come to the attention of the child welfare system. This article reviews the current

knowledge regarding the involvement of children of immigrants in this system, their

exposure to risk factors, and their experience of maltreatment. The article also presents the

challenges child welfare and legal systems face when children of immigrants enter the child

welfare system that may impact their well-being, and concludes with recommendations for

legal systems to work in collaboration with child welfare systems to facilitate positive

outcomes for children in immigrant families.jfcj_106919..30

Changes in immigration patterns and trends over the past two decades have considerably

changed the demographic profile of the United States. Not only have the numbers of foreign-

born immigrants living in the United States increased, but also a larger proportion of this

population consists of children and families.

During the 1990s, more than 15 million immigrants entered the United States, an

increase of 50% since the 1980s and over 100% since the 1970s (Capps & Fortuny, 2006). This

trend slowed somewhat during the 2000s, but the foreign-born population in the United

States continued to increase, growing from 31.1 million in 2000 to 38.5 million in 2009, an

increase of 24% (Gryn & Larsen, 2010; Malone, Baluja, Costanzo, & Davis, 2003).

As of 2009, foreign-born immigrants represented 12.5% of the total U.S. population

(Gryn & Larsen, 2010). Along with this growth, the number of children of immigrants (defined

as children with at least one foreign-born parent) has more than doubled, from 8 million in

1990 to 16.4 million in 2007 (Fortuny, Capps, Simms, & Chaudry, 2009). Children of

immigrants now represent nearly one-fourth (23%) of all children in the United States

(Fortuny, Capps et al., 2009). More than half (56%) of children of immigrants are of Hispanic

origin, followed by 18% non-Hispanic white, 18% non-Hispanic Asian, and 8% non-Hispanic

black (Fortuny & Chaudry, 2009).

Alan J. Dettlaff, Ph.D., MSW,is Assistant Professor in the Jane Addams College of Social Work, University

of Illinois at Chicago. His research focuses on improving outcomes for immigrant children and families in the child

welfare system, improving cultural competence, and influencing responses to racial and ethnic disparities. Corre-

spondence: aland@uic.edu

Juvenile and Family Court Journal 63, no. 1 (Winter) 19

© 2012 National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges