The Effects of Socioeconomic Vulnerability, Psychosocial Services, and Social Service Spending on Family Reunification: A Multilevel Longitudinal Analysis

Abstract

Socio-environmental factors such as poverty, psychosocial services, and social services spending all could influence the challenges faced by vulnerable families. This paper examines the extent to which socioeconomic vulnerability, psychosocial service consultations, and preventative social services spending impacts the reunification for children placed in out-of-home care. This study uses a multilevel longitudinal research design that draws data from three sources: (1) longitudinal administrative data from Quebec’s child protection agencies; (2) 2006 and 2011 Canadian Census data; and, (3) intra-province health and social services data. The final data set included all children (N = 39,882) placed in out-of-home care for the first time between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2013, and followed from their initial out-of-home placement. Multilevel hazard results indicate that socioeconomic vulnerability, controlling for psychosocial services and social services spending, contributes to the decreased likelihood of reunification. Specifically, socioeconomic vulnerability, psychosocial services, and social services spending account for 24.0% of the variation in jurisdictional reunification for younger children less than 5 years of age, 12.5% for children age 5 to 11 years and 21.4% for older children age 12 to 17 years. These findings have implications for decision makers, funding agencies, and child protection agencies to improve jurisdictional resources to reduce the socioeconomic vulnerabilities of reunifying families.

Considering Health Literacy, Health Decision Making, and Health Communication in the Social Networks of Vulnerable New Mothers in Hawai‘i: A Pilot Feasibility Study

“…Across most communities, socioeconomically vulnerable mothers have unmet health needs [37]. Socioeconomic vulnerability is influenced by a combination of risk factors at both the individual level and environmental level [38]. Both individual and community poverty are particularly important, impacting access to factors such as housing, food, transportation, clothing, health care, and education that have both immediate and future consequence to life course trajectories [38,39].…”

“…Socioeconomic vulnerability is influenced by a combination of risk factors at both the individual level and environmental level [38]. Both individual and community poverty are particularly important, impacting access to factors such as housing, food, transportation, clothing, health care, and education that have both immediate and future consequence to life course trajectories [38,39]. Socioeconomically vulnerable mothers are ideal to consider in network health literacy as they have known health literacy challenges [40], and often tend to their own health needs as well as those of their children, parents, and others [41].…”

Exploring parental responses to social and safety needs of school-age children during COVID-19 pandemic in Ogun State, Nigeria

“…They explain further that parents with low socioeconomic status were the least likely to reinforce safety concepts at home and also the least likely to provide protection. The study by Esposito et al (2017) also revealed that socioeconomic vulnerabilities decrease parents' ability to provide safe and adequate environment for their children's protection, leading to a high risk of out-of-home placement for children of such families.…”

“…Also, Briggs and Hawkins (1996) notes that the socioeconomic status of parents significantly influence children's safety and protection, and that parents with low socioeconomic status were the least likely to reinforce safety concepts at home and also the least likely to provide protection. Esposito et al (2017) also revealed that socioeconomic vulnerabilities decrease parents' ability to provide safe and adequate environment for their children's protection, leading to a high risk of out-of-home placement for children of such families. Gans (2019) observed that regardless of any age that one intends to become parent, one thing to know is that parenting comes with challenges.…”

First Nations parenting and child reunification: Identifying strengths, barriers, and community needs within the child welfare system

“…Rate ratio modelling of a large sample of birth rate data in New Zealand identified that Maori children, particularly those exposed to more risk factors, were more likely to experience abuse or neglect when compared to non‐Maori children (Cram, Gulliver, Ota, & Wilson, ). Living with poverty, as a risk factor for neglect, increases the likelihood of children being placed in care (Sinha et al, ; Esposito, Chabot, Rothwell, Trocmé, & Delaye, ) and also reduces the likelihood of future reunification of these children with their families (Esposito et al, ).…”