The Legacy of Racism for Children Psychology, Law, and Public Policy

When children become entangled with the law, their lives can be disrupted irrevocably. When those children are underrepresented minorities, the potential for disruption is even greater.

The Legacy of Racism for Children: Psychology, Law, and Public Policy examines issues that arise when minority children's lives are directly or indirectly influenced by law and public policy. Uniquely comprehensive in scope, this trailblazing volume offers cutting-edge chapters on the intersections of race/ethnicity within the context of child maltreatment, child dependency court, custody and adoption, familial incarceration, school discipline and the "school-to-prison pipeline," juvenile justice, police/youth interactions, and jurors' perceptions of child and adolescent victims and defendants. The book also includes chapters focused on troubling situations that are less commonly researched, but growing in importance, including the role of race and racism in child sex trafficking and US immigration law and policy. Thus, individual chapters explore myriad ways in which law and policy shape the lives of marginalized children and adolescents - racial and ethnic minorities - who historically and presently are at heightened risk for experiencing disadvantageous consequences of law and policy. In so doing, The Legacy of Racism for Children can help social scientists to understand and work to prevent the perpetuation of racial discrimination in American laws and public policies.

Margaret C. Stevenson is Associate Professor at the University of Evansville. She has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles, chapters, and an edited volume related to jury decision-making. She has received various grants and awards for teaching, research, and service, including the APA Division 37's Section on Child Maltreatment Early Career Award and the APA Division 37 Early Career Professional Award for Service.

Bette L. Bottoms is Professor of Psychology and Dean Emerita of the Honors College at The University of Illinois at Chicago. She is Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) and a past president of APA's Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice and Section on Child Maltreatment. Her psychology and law research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and published in over 100 journal articles, book chapters, and edited books.

Kelly C. Burke is a doctoral candidate in the Social Psychology Program at The University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research on the influence of prejudice and case evidence (e.g., body-worn camera footage) on juror decision making has been published in peer-reviewed journals and books and funded by the American Psychology-Law Society's Diversity Research Award and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues Grant-in-Aid Award.

1. The Legacy of Racism for Children's Interactions with the Law: Exploring Themes with Psychological Science
Margaret C. Stevenson, Bette L. Bottoms, and Kelly C. Burke

2. Cultural Oppression and Child Sex Trafficking: Exploring the Crossroads of Human Trafficking, Racism, and Policy
Thema Bryant-Davis and Pratyusha Tummala-Narra

3. Corporal Punishment Harms All Children: Rethinking the Culture Defense in Expert Witness Testimony in Child Abuse Cases
Stacey Patton

4. Do Race, Ethnicity, and Culture Shape the Experience and Disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse?
Lindsay C. Malloy, Jessica E. Sutherland, Lillian Rodriguez-Steen, and Jodi A. Quas

5. Juvenile Dependency Court: The Role of Race in Decisions, Outcomes, and Participant Experiences
Kyndra C. Cleveland and Jodi A. Quas

6. Transracial Adoption: Psychology, Law, and Policy
Rachel H. Farr and Katie M. Hrapczynski

7. The Impact of Parental Criminal Justice Involvement on Children of Color
Keva M. Miller and Crystallee Crain

8. Racial Disproportionality in the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Katherine M. Zinsser and Shannon B. Wanless

9. Racial Minority Youths' Perceptions of the Justice System: Life on the Street
Jennifer L. Woolard and Kristin Henning

10. Race and Ethnicity as a Compound Risk Factor in Police Interrogation of Youth
Iris Bland?n-Gitlin, Hayley Cleary, and Alisa Blair

11. Adults' Perceptions of Law-Involved Minority Children and Youth: Implications for Researchers and Professionals
Kelly C. Burke, Taylor Petty, Tayler M. Jones, Margaret C. Stevenson, Gent Silberkleit, and Bette L. Bottoms

12. Child Immigration: Barriers Predicated on National Origin and Racial Identity
Veronica T. Thronson and David B. Thronson

13. Children, Race, and Psychology: We Have No Time to Lose
Gail S. Goodman, LaTonya S. Harris, Deborah Goldfarb, and Yan Wang