Stability Without Support: Kinship Care and the Reproduction of Inequality in Child Protection
Location
John Q. Imholte Hall, Room #114
Event Website
https://2026undergraduateresearchsy.sched.com/event/2Ix8P/stability-without-support-kinship-care-and-the-reproduction-of-inequality-in-child-protection
Start Date
15-4-2026 4:00 PM
End Date
15-4-2026 4:30 PM
Description
This project examines child protection outcomes in Minnesota through a structural and inequality focused lens, analyzing how poverty, housing instability, racism, and system overlap shape family involvement with Child Protective Services (CPS). This literature review draws from sociology, anthropology, social work, and child welfare research, to examine how child protection systems disproportionately surveil and penalize low-income families and families of color, often framing structural disadvantage as an individual parental failure rather than a systemic or institutional issue. I specifically consider placement outcomes following child removal, with particular attention to differences between kinship care and non-relative foster care. Kinship placements are consistently associated with greater placement stability, permanency, and emotional continuity, but remain under-supported. I suggest that this reflects a broader pattern within child protection systems, where surveillance and removal are prioritized over prevention and family support. By situating Minnesota’s child protection system within its historical and structural context, I argue that child welfare involvement is not the result of an individual family failure, but a predictable outcome of deeply embedded social inequalities. This analysis highlights how current child protection policies often treat poverty as neglect while failing to invest in material supports that could prevent system involvement earlier on. I conclude with policy recommendations for Minnesota.
Publication Date
2026
Stability Without Support: Kinship Care and the Reproduction of Inequality in Child Protection
John Q. Imholte Hall, Room #114
This project examines child protection outcomes in Minnesota through a structural and inequality focused lens, analyzing how poverty, housing instability, racism, and system overlap shape family involvement with Child Protective Services (CPS). This literature review draws from sociology, anthropology, social work, and child welfare research, to examine how child protection systems disproportionately surveil and penalize low-income families and families of color, often framing structural disadvantage as an individual parental failure rather than a systemic or institutional issue. I specifically consider placement outcomes following child removal, with particular attention to differences between kinship care and non-relative foster care. Kinship placements are consistently associated with greater placement stability, permanency, and emotional continuity, but remain under-supported. I suggest that this reflects a broader pattern within child protection systems, where surveillance and removal are prioritized over prevention and family support. By situating Minnesota’s child protection system within its historical and structural context, I argue that child welfare involvement is not the result of an individual family failure, but a predictable outcome of deeply embedded social inequalities. This analysis highlights how current child protection policies often treat poverty as neglect while failing to invest in material supports that could prevent system involvement earlier on. I conclude with policy recommendations for Minnesota.
https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/urs_event/2026/oralpresentations/13