Income inequality and child welfare interventions in England and Wales

Abstract

BackgroundPrevious research has identified a relationship between income inequality and child abuse and neglect in the USA. This association has received limited exploration outside the USA.MethodsAdministrative data on child protection (CP) in 172 English and Welsh local authorities between 2013 and 2018 were combined with data on deprivation, ethnic density and education from publicly available data sources. Commercial income data were used for Gini coefficient estimation. We tested whether similar evidence for three key findings from a US study could be found in England and Wales. These included whether there was evidence of a relationship between income inequality and child maltreatment, whether this relationship was non-linear and whether this relationship varied dependent on the level of poverty.ResultsThere was a significant non-linear relationship between income inequality and state care rates in England and Wales. Predicted state care rates were higher as income inequality increased, up until around average levels where the effect flattens. However, there was no significant relationship for models predicting CP plan/register rates. Income inequality, income deprivation, ethnic density and higher education were able to explain around 75% of the variance in English and Welsh state care rates.ConclusionsThere is some evidence to support the claim of a relationship between income inequality and child maltreatment beyond the USA in England and Wales, and a case for further comparative research, but there are significant limitations in the comparability of data.

More Money, More Problems? Addressing the Funding Conditions Required for Rights-Based Child Welfare Services in England

“…The proportion of children living in income deprived households reflects a general indicator of child population needs across a more holistic range of outcomes outside of education. Poverty has consistently been found to be a strong indicator of child welfare interventions [23][24][25][26] and is causally associated with child abuse and neglect [27], the prevention of which is a chief obligation of local authority children's services. Further, there is an abundance of contemporary and historical evidence that children living in poverty are at heightened risk of impairments to their health [28,29].…”

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“…Parents with low income have higher violence behavior among children than parents with high income. Economic burdens, instability, and insecurity (Beatriz and Salhi, 2019), as well as income inequality (Webb et al, 2021), can increase the risks of violence among children at home.…”

Anxiety and depression among children and young people involved in family justice court proceedings: longitudinal national data linkage study

“…deprivation, exposure to parental conflict or separation, substance misuse or mental illness). 3,4 Such events are linked to poorer short-and longer-term development and mental health, 3,5 poorer social outcomes, educational underachievement and/or other serious disruptions to lives. 6 There is some evidence regarding the mental health of CYP in care; 7,8 however, to our knowledge, no studies have compared those involved in public and private law family court proceedings, and with a general population comparison group, using largescale administrative data.…”

“…deprivation, exposure to parental conflict or separation, substance misuse or mental illness). 3 , 4 Such events are linked to poorer short- and longer-term development and mental health, 3 , 5 poorer social outcomes, educational underachievement and/or other serious disruptions to lives. 6 …”