Urban American Indian/Alaskan Natives Compared to Non-Indians in Out-of-Home Care.

NATIVE American children; AGE distribution; ALCOHOLISM; BLACK people; CAREGIVERS; CHI-squared test; CHILD abuse; CHILD welfare; COMPARATIVE studies; COMPUTER software; CONFIDENCE intervals; STATISTICAL correlation; FAMILIES; FOSTER home care; HISPANIC Americans; MENTAL health; MENTAL illness; METROPOLITAN areas; POVERTY; RESEARCH; SEX distribution; SURVEYS; WHITE people; DATA analysis; SECONDARY analysis; SOCIOECONOMIC factors; RESIDENTIAL care; CROSS-sectional method

Historically, American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) children have been disproportionately represented in the foster care system. In this study, nationally representative child welfare data from October 1999 was used to compare urban AI/AN children to non-Indian children placed into out-of-home care. Compared to non-Indian children, urban AI/AN children were older, were more often male, came from poorer homes, and were more frequently placed into group homes/ residential placements. Urban AI/AN caregivers had a greater prevalence of alcohol abuse and mental health problems compared with non-Indian caregivers [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]