Intersectionality in Child Welfare: Addressing Unique Challenges Faced by Marginalized Communities
Public child welfare systems are designed to support children and families during some of the most challenging moments of their lives. However, for many families, especially those who sit at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities, the system can replicate harm rather than create healing. Creating equitable public child welfare systems requires us to name and address the layered realities families experience. Intersectionality offers a framework that strengthens decision-making, improves engagement, and ensures culturally responsive services for communities that have historically been underserved.
Understanding Intersectionality
Defining intersectionality in social and human services
Intersectionality, a concept rooted in Black feminist scholarship by Kimberlé Crenshaw, describes how multiple identity markers shape a person’s experience with social systems. Some of these markers include race, gender, language, immigration status, disability, socioeconomic background, and sexual orientation. In public child welfare, a space where families are often navigating crises, understanding these intersections is crucial for equitable assessment and intervention.
Historical context of systemic inequities
Public child welfare systems in the United States were built alongside laws and policies that disproportionately targeted communities of color. Understanding this historical context is essential for addressing the racial disparities that persist in reporting, investigations, foster care placements, and reunification outcomes. What many people may not consciously realize is that there is a complexity in multiple identity markers. Think about it…do people experience challenges in isolation? Not really. A Latina mother may be navigating racial bias, gender-based assumptions, and economic insecurity simultaneously. An African-American young boy with a hearing disability may experience discrimination connected to racial identity, disability, and a history of trauma and abuse. Intersectionality helps us see the full picture instead of reducing families to one label or category.
Identifying Specific Challenges
Racial disparities in public child welfare systems
Data continues to show disproportionate involvement of Black, Indigenous, and Latino families in the public child welfare system. These disparities are not explained by higher rates of maltreatment but by systemic racism, reporting bias, and inequitable access to prevention services.
Compounded barriers multiply for marginalized families
Families who hold multiple marginalized identities often face overlapping barriers, including:
Limited access to culturally and linguistically responsive services
Bias within risk assessments and safety planning
Economic insecurity that is mislabeled as “neglect”
Criminalization tied to poverty or immigration status
These inequities can deepen involvement with systems that should be providing support, not surveillance.
Impact of systemic racism on service delivery
Systemic racism can shape everything from case planning to placement decisions. When service requirements ignore cultural norms or structural barriers (e.g., transportation, language, childcare, documentation), families are set up to fail. Equity in public child welfare requires dismantling these barriers and rebuilding trust with communities historically harmed by the system.
Holistic Assessment Frameworks
Comprehensive approach to family support
A holistic assessment will look beyond the crisis and examine the environmental, community, and identity-related factors that influence a family’s situation. This approach reduces bias, increases accuracy, and helps professionals provide meaningful support that goes beyond a one-size-fits-all intervention.
Culturally responsive practice acknowledges that interventions must reflect the unique identities, histories, and strengths of families. One-size-fits-all approaches often overlook the protective factors embedded within cultural traditions, extended family networks, and community support systems.
We are compelled to remember that families and communities are the experts of their lived experiences. Not systems. Centering their voices ensures that case plans and services reflect real needs rather than assumptions. When families feel heard and respected, engagement improves and long-term outcomes become more sustainable.
Innovative Support Models
Trauma-informed care approaches
Trauma-informed models recognize the impact of historical trauma, racism, and chronic stress on families. By integrating principles of safety, empowerment, and collaboration, public child welfare professionals can create more healing-centered interactions.
Community-based support systems
Community-rooted organizations exist. They include cultural centers, faith communities, parent partner networks, and grassroots groups. These organizations play a critical role in preventing system involvement. Their culturally grounded approaches often build trust faster than traditional agency-led services.
Culturally responsive intervention strategies
Effective interventions honor a family’s cultural identity, values, language, and traditions. Culturally responsive practice strengthens engagement, reduces placement disruptions, and creates pathways that are aligned with how families naturally provide care, seek support, and navigate challenges.
Systemic Change
Building cross-sector collaborative approaches
Families’ needs are intersectional and so must be our solutions. When systems collaborate with behavioral health, education, housing, and community-led organizations families can receive truly integrated support.
To create long-term change, public child welfare agencies must examine structural barriers embedded within funding models, risk assessments, organizational culture, and decision-making practices. Equity requires both accountability and investment in a workforce prepared to serve diverse communities with humility and skill.
Conclusion
Vision for public child welfare systems
A just system is one where every family, regardless of identity, background, or circumstance can access supports that honor their dignity and strengths. Continuing a commitment to these approaches is what every family deserves.
Intersectionality is more than a framework. It is a commitment to designing systems that see families fully, challenge inequity courageously, and invest in community-driven solutions that lead to lasting change.
Work With rfc21: Advancing Equity Through Innovation
At rfc21, we partner with public and private agencies committed to transforming public child welfare systems through culturally responsive practice, equity-centered leadership, and community-driven strategies. Whether you're strengthening workforce development, implementing trauma-informed models, redesigning policies, or building more equitable systems, our team brings a combined 45 years of expertise in public child welfare, leadership, implementation, and organizational change.
✨ If your agency is ready to deepen its commitment to intersectional practice, we’re here to support your next step.
Learn more or start a conversation today:
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rfc21 specializes in driving meaningful change for organizations dedicated to supporting children and families in communities of color. Book a call with us to discover how our effective strategies can support your organizational transformation.
