The Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) is a national non-profit, and since its founding more than 40 years ago, has been at the forefront of our nation’s most significant reforms in child welfare and family support services, combining rigorous standards for policy analysis and nurturing innovation in communities. We believe that our collective efforts will dramatically shift our nation toward a more fair, just, and equitable society, by focusing on several key priorities, including:

• Developing a strong national anti-poverty policy that centers equity.
• Ensuring that all young children get a great start in life by advancing local early childhood systems and parental leadership.
• Building public systems that empower all youth and link them to opportunities.
• Creating a national child welfare system that is fair, equitable, and effective.
• Generating evidence about the power of communities and marginalized people to lead and achieve lasting change.

Many CSSP staff contributed to the development of these online modules and the in-person training, and we would like to thank them for their efforts.

The development of inSIGHT: Exploring Implicit Bias in Child Protection was funded in part by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. We thank them for their support but acknowledge that the findings and conclusions presented in this curriculum are those of CSSP alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Foundation.

The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity is an interdisciplinary engaged research institute at The Ohio State University established in May 2003. As a racial equity research institute, our goal is to connect individuals and communities with opportunities needed for thriving by educating the public, building the capacity of allied social justice organizations, and investing in efforts that support racial equity and inclusion. Here at the Kirwan Institute, we do this through research, engagement, and communication.

The Race and Cognition team at the Kirwan Institute would like to give thanks to all of those involved in the process of creating and launching the Online Implicit Bias training. Countless hours have been dedicated to the creation of the modules and we do not take that for granted. There are several people we would like to show an additional level of gratitude to:

Special thanks to the entire staff at The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity—thank you so much for your dedication to this work and your everyday efforts to make the world a more just and inclusive society. We appreciate you!

Why focus on implicit rather than explicit bias?

Although our modules focus primarily on implicit bias, Kirwan and CSSP acknowledge that inclusion and equity efforts must also address explicit bias and discrimination in order to create real change. Our explicit and implicit attitudes are related constructs, and many times peoples’ implicit and explicit attitudes are in alignment.

However, even though concepts are related, they are distinct. Someone can act in a biased manner based on their implicit associations, even if they do not indicate an explicit preference for certain individuals or groups. Learning about implicit bias provides a lens to help examine the causes of racial, gender, or other social disparities, even in the absence of explicit intent to discriminate or cause harm.

How long will it take me to complete these modules?

While everyone works at a different pace, these modules should take participants roughly 45 minutes to 1.5 hours to complete, depending on the time spent on activities and supplemental exercises.

Are these modules supported by research?

Yes. The methods and research shared in these modules is supported in part by Kirwan’s annual flagship publication, the State of the Science Implicit Bias Review. Each year, Kirwan researchers compile studies on the subject of implicit bias into an interdisciplinary literature review in a format that is accessible and easy to understand from a wide range of academic and professional backgrounds.

Additionally, the child welfare historical content is supported by and adapted from “A Historical Overview: Timeline of Child Welfare and Youth Justice Systems—Racial and Ethnic Focus” from The W. Haywood Burns Institute for Justice Fairness and Equity. National data on racial disparity and disproportionality is based on 2017 Census Data and data reported by states through the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis Reporting System (AFCARS) and represents point in time data as of the last day of the fiscal year (September 30, 2017). Additional child welfare content is provided by child welfare experts from the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) and can be found in publications from CSSP, including: Achieving Racial Equity: Child Welfare Strategies to Improve Outcomes for Children of Color and Prevent, Protect, & Provide: How child welfare can better support low-income families.

Does implicit bias reflect my beliefs about equity or inclusion?

We will get more into this during Module 1, but our implicit preferences do not necessarily align with our explicit beliefs. For example, one can believe in equality of all people and still hold a pro-self-identity bias. Importantly, some people possess implicit attitudes that do not align with their own held identities.

If I didn’t intend to be biased in the first place, how will learning about implicit bias help?

Becoming aware of what biases you possess and the decisions that are most likely to be influenced by our unconscious processing can help you build interventions and strategies to prevent the expression of bias and unwanted outcomes. Our training also includes information about empirically based interventions to both reduce the expression of bias and alter the associations we possess.

What is the connection between implicit bias and how people act?

Implicit bias has been shown to impact decision-making across a wide array of sectors, including employment, medicine, and education. However, there are limitations to the extent to which unconscious biases can predict individual behavior. People with an implicit preference for one identity may not act on this bias or make biased decisions, much of this depends on the circumstance.

Does this training apply to me if I don’t have implicit bias?

We will touch on this during the modules, but because biases can be activated across a wide range of identities, we all hold some implicit preferences. Even people without an implicit preference can still act in ways that produce discriminatory behavior, such as not speaking up when they see bias in their environment. This need to translate knowledge into action is why Kirwan and CSSP also emphasize the importance of being an active bystander.

Will these modules eliminate bias?

These modules are not designed to eliminate bias. Rather, we hope that an awareness of implicit bias and how it operates will help participants engage in more equitable decision-making practices and behaviors. These strategies to reduce the expression of bias are only one piece of the puzzle and should be complemented by policies and strategies to address institutional and explicit discrimination.

I’m not in a child welfare profession, are these modules for me?

This module series includes examples and activities that are uniquely tailored to the experience of those who work in a child welfare setting or a closely related field. However, much of the content in Modules 1, 3, and 4 are generalizable enough to apply to most audiences.

In this first module, you will be introduced to the basics of implicit bias:

• What is meant by “implicit” or “unconscious” associations or biases?
• How are implicit biases different from explicit biases?
• What does it look and/or feel like when implicit associations operate?
• How do our biases form?
• Why does all of this matter?

You are encouraged to complete each lesson in order and at your pace. Each lesson is followed by a quick check-in question that will help us gauge your understanding thus far.

We hope you enjoy this first module!

Certificate Test

Congratulations on Completing Implicit Bias Modules. As a next step, take the test for your Implicit Bias Training Certificate. 

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