In many countries around the world, the risk of contact with child protective services is greatest among children under the age of one. In that age group, children under the age of 3 months are at even greater risk. For... [ view full abstract ]
In many countries around the world, the risk of contact with child protective services is greatest among children under the age of one. In that age group, children under the age of 3 months are at even greater risk. For example, in the U.S., children under the age of 1 account for between 1-in-5 and 1-in-3 admissions to foster care. Of these admissions, as many as 40 percent may be below the age of 3 months. In some places, the latter figure is even higher.
Because infants represent a developmentally unique sub-population, it is important that child protection systems respond appropriately to the underlying family-based risks and longer-range developmental risks. Without that knowledge, the design of appropriate prevention services and other interventions is that much more difficult.
In the paper, we attend to these issues using a unique data set of birth records that have been linked to child protection and foster care records. These data provide a detailed view of who, among children born, is most likely to have contact with the child protection system (CPS), of those children who is most likely to enter foster care, and of children placed who is most likely to return home or be adopted. Because the birth records contain information about the biological parents (though mostly about the mother) and the child's wellbeing at birth, the data provide a comprehensive overview of factors associated with whether a child comes to the attention of the child protection system.
To these data, we add findings from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Wellbeing (NSCAW), a nationally representative survey of children in contact with the child protection system in the US. With 5 waves of data collection and an oversample of infants, NSCAW represents the best source of data pertaining to the long term outcomes of children served by child protection agencies.
Findings prepared for the presentation focus on these three areas. With respect to whether a child is reported to child protection services, we focus on two domains of interest: mother's background including age, educational status, and use of prenatal care and child characteristics including birthweight and APGAR scores. We use these data to understand the risk of contact with CPS. Among children in contact with child protection services, we use the same data to understand who will enter foster care and who will leave foster care. Of those who enter foster care, we are particularly interested in adoption. Children who are adopted leave the foster care system with a new set of legal parents.
With the NSCAW data, we broaden our view of CPS involvement by considering developmental outcomes for these groups: children who were at home across all waves of data; children who spent some time in foster care and some time at home (e.g., children placed and reunified); and children who were adopted divided into groups based on the timing of the adoption. As for developmental measures we focus on language development and measures derived from the Batelle Developmental Inventory (BDI). From these data, we identify developmental trajectories that examine wellbeing over the early life course.
With regard to the risk of CPS involvement, the results point to the importance of prenatal care and lifestyle choices on the part of the mother. From a developmental perspective the results reinforce the importance of the home as context for development. The paper concludes with a discussion of policy and practice implications.
Prevention and family intervention programs , Family foster care and adoption
