A total of 20,190 children were referred to the child welfare system in Allegheny County due to abuse or neglect in 2015. The data in this brief analyzes the number and rate of children of different races at four critical stages within the child welfare system: referral, investigation, accept for service and home removal. While this analysis does not identify the reason for the disproportionality that exists, it is clear there is unequal representation of black and bi/multiracial children within the child welfare system as compared to the representation of these groups in Allegheny County.
