LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The agency monitoring Nebraska children in foster care says there’s a disproportionate number of minority youth in out-of-home care.

The Nebraska Foster Care Review Office found on March 31 that African-American, Native-American, biracial and Latino children were overrepresented in the population of youth in foster care and other forms of out-of-home care.

Nearly 15 percent of wards of the state are African-American, though black children represent only 6 percent of the overall population of Nebraska children, according to a special study in the office’s quarterly report. Nearly 6 percent of children in out-of-home care or trial home visit are Native-American, but Native-

American children comprise about 2 percent of the state’s children. About 20 percent of wards of the state are Latino, compared to their 17 percent makeup in the general population of children.

The study also found lopsided percentages for black children when considering youth who have been in out-of-home placements for two or more years.

Minority children are more likely to be separated from siblings while in foster care, the report said. Siblings can provide a source of stability and improve resiliency in these unstable conditions, according to the study.

The report also identified a greater overrepresentation of black youth in the juvenile justice system. About 25 percent of residents at the Geneva Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center are young black women, and 28 percent of those in the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center at Kearney are young black men.

The report didn’t identify why disproportionate placements are occurring but said state providers must evaluate where and how the disparity is happening.