Centre for Research on Children and Families Ethical and methodological challenges involved in tracking and reporting on ethnicity, race and Aboriginal heritage Nico Trocmé, Toni Esposito Vandna Sinha CRCF Research Seminar, October 9 th,

Centre for Research on Children and Families What were the ethnic or cultural origins of your ancestors? (NHS 2011)  this question collects information on the ancestral origins of the population and provides information about the composition of Canada's diverse population.'  an ancestor is usually more distant than a grandparent.‘  For example, Canadian, English, French, Chinese, East Indian, Italian, German, Scottish, Irish, Cree, Mi'kmaq, Salish, Métis, Inuit, Filipino, Dutch, Ukrainian, Polish, Portuguese, Greek, Korean, Vietnamese, Jamaican, Jewish, Lebanese, Salvadorean, Somali, Colombian, etc.  Specify as many origins as applicable 2

Centre for Research on Children and Families The challenge of classifying ethno- cultural and Aboriginal background Ethnicity, race, Aboriginal heritage and culture are social constructs; There are no internationally accepted classifications; Yet the experience of discrimination is pervasive; How should we measure these constructs? 3

Centre for Research on Children and Families Census 2006 / National Household Survey 2011 Up to 2011, a random 20% of households in Canada were required to complete the Census Long Form which included pre-set questions on ethnicity and Aboriginal status In 2011 the long form was replaced with a voluntary National Household Survey (68.6% response rate) which includes a self-defined ethnic ancestry question and pre-set ethnic categories 4

Centre for Research on Children and Families 5

6

Visible Minority (Employment Equity Act) persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour.' Categories in the visible minority population variable include: – Chinese, South Asian, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Southeast Asian, Arab, West Asian, Korean, Japanese, – Visible minority, n.i.e. ('n.i.e.' means 'not included elsewhere'), – Multiple visible minority. 7

Centre for Research on Children and Families Statistics Canada tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/demo50a- eng.htm tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/demo50a- eng.htm 8

Centre for Research on Children and Families 9

10

Centre for Research on Children and Families 11

Centre for Research on Children and Families 12

Centre for Research on Children and Families 13

Centre for Research on Children and Families Children 0-14 in Foster Care (Census 2011) 14

Centre for Research on Children and Families Percentage distribution of the population aged 14 and under in private households by living arrangement Canada, % of the roughly 30,000 children aged 14 and under in foster care were Aboriginal. Living arrangementsTotal Aboriginal identity population First Nations single identity Métis single identity Inuit single identity Non- Aboriginal identity population Children of both parents Stepchildren Children of lone parent Grandchildren in skip- generation family Foster children Living with other relatives Source: Statistics Canada, National Household Survey,

Centre for Research on Children and Families Tracking ethno-racial background in health, education and social services Self-identification is not always feasible: – Limited opportunity to ask – Potentially high refusal rate – Prohibitive coding costs Many opt for lengthy ethnicity lists that come closest to the lists generated through self identification Use of a short set of categories is often controversial 16

Centre for Research on Children and Families Qc Health and Social Services Ethnic Codes Over 200 ethnic codes Yet this level of detail is never used for analytic or reporting purposes Despite an effort to increase response rate, data quality is plagued by missing data 17

Centre for Research on Children and Families Exploring the placement trajectories of children in the Québec child protection system 18

Centre for Research on Children and Families Missing data is?  Is it:  missing completely at random— unrelated to child protection services.  not missing at random—probably related to whether or not a child receives child protection services, the kind of services received and for how long. 19

Average maltreatment investigations by ethno-racial background (F (df=127,180) = , p <.001) Investigated children (N = 127,181) Aboriginal children (N = 4,715) Black children (N = 3,959) All other children (N = 67,216) Unidentified children (N = 51,291)

(F (df=127,180) = , p <.001) Neighborhood area socioeconomic disadvantages by ethno-racial background. 29 (.92)

Youth criminal justice services rate by ethno-racial background (X 2 (df=3) = , p <.001) Investigated children 10 to 17 (N = 55,110) Aboriginal children (N = 1,480) Black children (N = 1,527) All other children (N = 31,557) Unidentified children (N = 20,546)

Placement rate by ethno-racial background & age at initial maltreatment investigation (N = 127,181)

Placement rate by ethno-racial background (X 2 (df=3) = , p <.001-Rp) Investigated children (N = 127,181) Aboriginal children (N = 4,715) Black children (N = 3,959) All other children (N = 67,216) Unidentified children (N = 51,291)

Placement changes by ethno-racial background (N =29,040) (Kruskal-Wallis H X 2 p <.001-Rp)

Centre for Research on Children and Families How to deal with missing information  Option 1: do nothing. Works if the number of missing values are typically small and missing values are typically random.  Option 2: delete cases with missing values. Subjects with missing values may be different than the subjects without missing values.  Option 3 replace the missing values (i.e. simple imputation). Same disadvantage as option 2.  Option 4 leave out the variable and not control for ethno-racial information. Given the high level and non- randomness of missing data, this reduces the uncertainty of the effect of children’s ethno-racial background on the probability of experiencing a child protection event (y). 26

Centre for Research on Children and Families CIS Ethno Racial and Aboriginal Codes

Centre for Research on Children and Families Ethno-racial “appearance” of primary caregiver (CIS, 2008)* 28 * N= 15,980, missing data in 6 cases

Centre for Research on Children and Families Aboriginal heritage of children in cases of substantiated maltreatment (CIS-08) 6% of children in Canada are Aboriginal

Centre for Research on Children and Families Rates of First Nations & non-Aboriginal child investigations conducted by sampled agencies (FN-CIS 2008) 30

Centre for Research on Children and Families Primary maltreatment in substantiated First Nations and Non-Aboriginal maltreatment investigations conducted by sampled agencies (FN-CIS 2008) 8.0 x greater 31

Centre for Research on Children and Families Ethno-racial appearance might be measurable… But, is it ethical to collect this information? …or, is it ethical not to collect this information? 32

Centre for Research on Children and Families Importance of context “Child neglect rampant in First Nations communities” vs. “Child welfare services not equipped to meet needs of First Nations families raising children in adverse conditions” 33

Centre for Research on Children and Families “no research about us without us” OCAP principles provide a framework – Ownership, describes the collective relationship of members of a First Nation to their cultural knowledge, data and information in all forms – Control, refers to maintaining oversight over all aspects of information management – Access refers to the right of First Nations individuals and collectivities to access information and data about themselves and their Nations, wherever it is held. – Possession facilitates the protection of ownership and control over data. 34

Centre for Research on Children and Families OCAP and the CIS Balance OCAP with protection of anonymity and limits of the research design. FN Advisory Committee oversaw sampling, recruitment, interpretation and reporting of primary findings and approves all secondary analyses focusing on FN. Capacity building in the form of data training workshops and supporting data analysis essential to ensure access. 35

Centre for Research on Children and Families Summary Key ethical considerations: – Clearly articulate purpose for tracking ethno-racial or Aboriginal data. – Ensure control / authentic involvement of ethno-racial or Aboriginal stakeholders. – Contextualize all reporting of data. Key methodological considerations: – Maintain comparability with existing population statistics. – Use manageable categories to ensure high response rates. – Credible data is powerful data Further discussion… 36

Centre for Research on Children and Families Merci! 37