Child protective intervention in the context of welfare reform: The effects of work and welfare on maltreatment reports

Abstract

Recent changes in welfare policy have produced changes in parental work and welfare receipt. These factors are assessed in relation to investigated reports of child abuse and neglect using survey data on 1998 welfare recipients in nine Illinois counties, in conjunction with longitudinal administrative data on cash welfare benefits, employment, and child abuse and neglect reports. Trend analyses show that rates of child maltreatment reports among welfare recipients have risen since the passage of PRWORA in 1996. Findings from multivariate analyses indicate that parental employment has a protective effect on reports to child protection systems (CPS), that this effect is greatest when combined with welfare receipt, and that this effect becomes stronger over time. Those who receive welfare in the absence of employment face a significantly greater risk of CPS involvement, even compared with those who neither work nor receive welfare. © 2003 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management

Welfare recipients’ involvement with child protective services after welfare reform

“…These results are consistent with other studies (Courtney et al, 2001;Slack et al, 2003) and suggest that parents with seriously troubled pasts and/or ongoing family or neighborhood stressors may be more likely to have more severe difficulties with their children and thus may be more likely to have their case investigated and opened.…”

“…African American recipients were less likely to be investigated and supervised by CPS than Whites when other factors were held constant. This finding is consistent with previous studies of welfare populations where African American welfare recipients are less likely to be involved with CPS than their White counterparts (Goerge & Lee, 2000;Needell et al, 1999;Slack et al, 2003). In addition to race, low income-to-needs ratio, cohabitation, childhood welfare receipt, or having a learning disability were significantly and positively related to one's chances of being reported to CPS.…”

“…Ovwigho et al's (2003) study of those who recently left the welfare rolls reported that a mother's employment status itself did not have a significant effect on involvement with CPS, although her higher earnings significantly decreased this risk. Slack et al (2003) reported that the risk of CPS involvement was significantly higher for those who depended solely on welfare and significantly lower for those who combined welfare and work as sources of income than for those who neither worked nor received welfare. Those who worked without receiving welfare were not significantly different from those who did not work and did not receive welfare.…”

“…In studies of the general population, the effect of race disappears after controlling for family income and other characteristics (Pelton, 1994;Sedlak & Broadhurst, 1996;Thomlison, 2004). However, in studies of welfare recipients, Whites are more likely to be involved with CPS than their minority counterparts even after controlling for other factors (Needell et al, 1999;Goerge & Lee, 2000;Slack et al, 2003). In addition to race, mothers' younger age; having a child at an early age; lower educational achievement; having a learning disability; mothers' experience with violence both during childhood and as an adult; poor physical health, psychiatric symptoms, substance abuse, emotional fragility; and involvement with the criminal justice system have been associated with CPS involvement (Black, Heyman, & Slep, 2001;Browne & Saqi, 1988;Courtney et al, 2001;Needell et al, 1999;Shook, 1999;Thomlison, 2004).…”

Current Debates on Variability in Child Welfare Decision-Making: A Selected Literature Review

“…Paxson and Waldfogel [83] in a large study found that an increase from 10% to 15% of children living in extreme poverty was associated with a 22% increase in child abuse. Many others have found similar results [84]. However, interpreting these findings in decision-making contexts requires careful examination: "The experiences of those trying to parent in a profoundly unequal society are not interrogated rigorously enough in current responses, with causation and correlation confused in a highly abstract language that renders real people and their lives invisible and/or unintelligible" ( [41], p. 5).…”