0:00:00.944,0:00:04.698
I want you to imagine that you are[br]a Child Protective Services worker.

0:00:05.563,0:00:08.380
And you have to respond[br]to a report of child abuse.

0:00:09.159,0:00:14.024
You walk into a home, unannounced,[br]unexpected, certainly uninvited.

0:00:15.189,0:00:18.903
The first thing you see is a mattress[br]in the middle of the room, on the floor.

0:00:18.927,0:00:20.927
Three kids lying on it, asleep.

0:00:21.982,0:00:25.538
There's a small table nearby[br]with a couple of ashtrays,

0:00:25.562,0:00:26.910
empty beer cans.

0:00:28.268,0:00:30.847
Large rat traps are set in the corner,

0:00:30.871,0:00:34.037
not too far from where[br]the kids lie asleep.

0:00:34.061,0:00:35.327
So you make a note.

0:00:37.173,0:00:40.347
A part of your job is walking[br]through the entire home.

0:00:40.371,0:00:43.307
So you start with the kitchen,[br]where there's very little food.

0:00:44.315,0:00:47.593
You notice another mattress[br]in the bedroom, on the floor,

0:00:47.617,0:00:50.259
that the mother shares[br]with her infant child.

0:00:52.419,0:00:55.781
Now, generally, at this point,[br]two things may happen.

0:00:56.649,0:01:00.143
The children are deemed unsafe[br]and removed from the home,

0:01:00.167,0:01:03.505
and placed in state custody[br]for a specified period of time.

0:01:04.657,0:01:07.874
Or the children remain with their family

0:01:07.898,0:01:11.623
and the child welfare system[br]provides help and support.

0:01:13.699,0:01:15.842
When I was a Child[br]Protective Services worker,

0:01:15.866,0:01:18.450
I saw things like this all the time.

0:01:18.474,0:01:20.607
Some far better, some far worse.

0:01:21.800,0:01:23.998
I asked you to imagine[br]yourself in that home,

0:01:24.022,0:01:26.435
because I wonder what crossed your mind.

0:01:26.459,0:01:28.259
What guides your decisions?

0:01:28.729,0:01:31.809
What's going to impact[br]your opinion of that family?

0:01:32.539,0:01:36.005
What race, ethnicity,[br]did you think the family was?

0:01:37.800,0:01:41.085
I want you to realize[br]that if those children were white,

0:01:41.109,0:01:45.086
it is more likely that their family[br]stays together after that visit.

0:01:46.601,0:01:48.839
Research done at[br]the University of Pennsylvania

0:01:48.863,0:01:53.672
found that white families, on average,[br]have access to more help and more support

0:01:53.696,0:01:55.314
from the child welfare system.

0:01:55.632,0:02:00.452
And their cases are less likely[br]to go through a full investigation.

0:02:02.333,0:02:04.892
But on the other hand,[br]if those kids are black,

0:02:05.976,0:02:08.863
they are four times[br]more likely to be removed,

0:02:08.887,0:02:12.164
they spend longer periods[br]of time in foster care,

0:02:12.188,0:02:15.291
and it's harder to find them[br]a stable foster placement.

0:02:17.299,0:02:20.188
Foster care is meant to be[br]an immediate shelter of protection

0:02:20.212,0:02:21.863
for kids who are at high risk.

0:02:21.887,0:02:26.020
But it's also a confusing[br]and traumatic exit from the family.

0:02:27.027,0:02:29.138
Research done at[br]the University of Minnesota

0:02:29.162,0:02:31.677
found that kids[br]who went through foster care

0:02:31.701,0:02:34.908
had more behavioral problems[br]and internalized issues

0:02:34.932,0:02:39.382
than kids who remain with their families[br]while receiving help and support.

0:02:40.691,0:02:43.381
The scenario I mentioned earlier[br]is not uncommon.

0:02:43.405,0:02:45.738
A single mother,[br]living in low-income housing

0:02:45.762,0:02:47.296
with her four children.

0:02:47.695,0:02:50.304
And the rats make it[br]almost impossible to keep food,

0:02:50.328,0:02:52.595
let alone fresh food in the home.

0:02:53.792,0:02:57.148
Does that mother deserve[br]to have her children taken from her?

0:02:58.934,0:03:01.187
Emma Ketteringham,[br]a family court attorney,

0:03:01.211,0:03:04.085
says that if you live[br]in a poor neighborhood,

0:03:04.109,0:03:05.928
then you better be a perfect parent.

0:03:07.109,0:03:10.865
She says that we place unfair,[br]often unreachable standards

0:03:10.889,0:03:13.762
on parents who are raising their kids[br]with very little money.

0:03:14.199,0:03:16.810
And their neighborhood and ethnicity

0:03:16.834,0:03:19.508
impact whether or not[br]their kids are removed.

0:03:21.783,0:03:24.651
In the two years I spent[br]on the front lines of child welfare,

0:03:24.675,0:03:26.268
I made high-stakes decisions.

0:03:26.292,0:03:29.815
And I saw firsthand[br]how my personal values impacted my work.

0:03:30.736,0:03:35.029
Now, as social work faculty[br]at Florida State University,

0:03:35.053,0:03:36.204
I lead an institute

0:03:36.228,0:03:40.021
that curates the most innovative[br]and effective child welfare research.

0:03:40.486,0:03:45.216
And research tells us that there are[br]twice as many black kids in foster care,

0:03:45.240,0:03:47.137
twenty-eight percent,

0:03:47.161,0:03:50.914
than there are in the general[br]population, 14 percent.

0:03:51.673,0:03:53.736
And although there are[br]several reasons why,

0:03:53.760,0:03:55.998
I want to discuss one reason today:

0:03:56.022,0:03:57.172
implicit bias.

0:03:58.815,0:04:00.387
Let's start with "implicit."

0:04:00.411,0:04:03.211
It's subconscious,[br]something you're not aware of.

0:04:04.752,0:04:07.015
Bias -- those stereotypes and attitudes

0:04:07.039,0:04:09.705
that we all have[br]about certain groups of people.

0:04:10.021,0:04:13.012
So, implicit bias is what lurks[br]in the background

0:04:13.036,0:04:15.103
of every decision that we make.

0:04:16.608,0:04:18.007
So how can we fix it?

0:04:18.973,0:04:21.781
I have a promising solution[br]that I want to share.

0:04:22.671,0:04:24.019
Now, in almost every state,

0:04:24.043,0:04:27.300
there are high numbers of black kids[br]going into foster care.

0:04:28.206,0:04:31.333
But data revealed that Nassau County,

0:04:31.357,0:04:33.000
a community in New York,

0:04:33.024,0:04:36.500
had managed to decrease[br]the number of black kids being removed.

0:04:36.921,0:04:42.052
And in 2016, I went[br]into that community with my team

0:04:42.076,0:04:43.893
and led a research study,

0:04:43.917,0:04:47.301
discovering the use[br]of blind removal meetings.

0:04:47.887,0:04:49.287
This is how it works.

0:04:50.014,0:04:52.855
A case worker responds[br]to a report of child abuse.

0:04:53.196,0:04:54.585
They go out to the home,

0:04:54.609,0:04:56.672
but before the children are removed,

0:04:56.696,0:04:59.093
the case worker[br]must come back to the office

0:04:59.117,0:05:00.823
and present what they found.

0:05:01.220,0:05:02.910
But here's the distinction:

0:05:02.934,0:05:04.729
When they present to the committee,

0:05:04.753,0:05:08.702
they delete names, ethnicity,[br]neighborhood, race,

0:05:08.726,0:05:10.659
all identifiable information.

0:05:11.297,0:05:17.053
They focus on what happened,[br]family strength, relevant history

0:05:17.077,0:05:19.791
and the parents' ability[br]to protect the child.

0:05:20.815,0:05:24.188
With that information,[br]the committee makes a recommendation,

0:05:24.212,0:05:26.679
never knowing the race of the family.

0:05:28.300,0:05:31.680
Blind removals have made[br]a drastic impact in that community.

0:05:32.125,0:05:36.695
In 2011, 57 percent of the kids[br]going into foster care were black.

0:05:37.712,0:05:41.735
But after five years of blind removals,[br]that is down to 21 percent.

0:05:42.667,0:05:49.127
(Applause)

0:05:49.151,0:05:52.277
Here's what we learned[br]from talking to some of the case workers.

0:05:52.916,0:05:55.884
"When a family has a history[br]with the department,

0:05:55.908,0:05:58.559
many of us hold that history against them,

0:05:58.583,0:06:01.130
even if they're trying[br]to do things differently."

0:06:01.892,0:06:04.510
"When I see a case from a certain[br]apartment building,

0:06:04.534,0:06:06.511
neighborhood or zip code,

0:06:06.535,0:06:08.813
I just automatically think the worst."

0:06:10.034,0:06:13.653
"Child welfare is very subjective,[br]because it's an emotional field.

0:06:14.114,0:06:17.226
There's no one who doesn't have[br]emotions around this work.

0:06:17.250,0:06:20.146
And it's very hard to leave[br]all of your stuff at the door

0:06:20.170,0:06:21.408
when you do this work.

0:06:21.432,0:06:25.621
So let's take the subjectivity[br]of race and neighborhood out of it,

0:06:26.720,0:06:28.839
and you might get different outcomes."

0:06:30.720,0:06:33.478
Blind removals seem to be[br]bringing us closer

0:06:33.502,0:06:37.545
to solving the problem of implicit bias[br]in foster-care decisions.

0:06:38.490,0:06:40.814
My next step is figuring out

0:06:40.838,0:06:43.799
how to use artificial intelligence[br]and machine learning

0:06:43.823,0:06:45.831
to bring this project to scale

0:06:45.855,0:06:48.140
and make it more accessible[br]to other states.

0:06:48.514,0:06:51.047
I know we can transform child welfare.

0:06:51.522,0:06:53.688
We can hold organizations accountable

0:06:53.712,0:06:56.855
to developing the social consciousness[br]of their employees.

0:06:57.292,0:06:58.982
We can hold ourselves accountable

0:06:59.006,0:07:02.548
to making sure our decisions[br]are driven by ethics and safety.

0:07:03.419,0:07:08.984
Let's imagine a child welfare system[br]that focuses on partnering with parents,

0:07:09.008,0:07:10.531
empowering families,

0:07:10.555,0:07:13.578
and no longer see poverty as failure.

0:07:14.666,0:07:17.214
Let's work together to build a system

0:07:17.238,0:07:21.366
that wants to make families stronger[br]instead of pulling them apart.

0:07:22.563,0:07:23.738
Thank you.

0:07:23.762,0:07:27.896
(Applause) (Cheering)