David Crampton is an Associate Professor of Social Work at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½. He first became engaged in social work research and practice when he joined a research team at the University of Michigan School of Social Work that was examining foster care in Michigan. An overwhelming finding of that research was that African American children were far more likely to be in foster care compared to White children in Michigan. This holds true where he works now. While 30 percent of the children in Cuyahoga County, Ohio are African American, 53 percent of the calls to the Child Protective Services hotline at the Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family services (CCDCFS) are African American and 50 percent of the children in the custody of CCDCFS are African American. He decided to pursue his interest in the experience of African American children in foster care by earning an MSW and PhD in social work from the University of Michigan. His doctoral dissertation was an evaluation of a program that used Family Group Decision Making to divert children of color from foster care into placement with relatives. He continued to pursue his interests in foster care research and the use of Family meeting practices in child welfare services when he joined the Mandel School faculty in 2002. CCDCFS uses a practice similar to FGDM called Team Decision Making (TDM). Since joining the Mandel School faculty, he has published numerous articles about TDM and related family meeting practices used in Cuyahoga County and throughout the United States and Internationally.
Why I Teach
My research work to date demonstrates that reducing the disproportionate impact of foster care on African American children requires broad engagement of community organizations, neighborhoods and families. I build on this expertise through my teaching of MSW students by teaching community practice and policy advocacy courses. I empower my students to confront racism in human services, building upon my own practice experiences.
Why I Chose this Profession
I first became engaged in social work research and practice when I joined a research team at the University of Michigan School of Social Work that was examining foster care in Michigan. An overwhelming finding of that research was that African American children were far more likely to be in foster care compared to White children in Michigan. I decided to become a Social Work professor to encourage my students to confront this challenge