State Child Maltreatment Policies and Disparities in Substantiation: A Study of State-Administered Child Welfare Systems in the U.S.

Abstract

Although several studies have examined child and family factors associated with substantiation, less research has explored the role of state child maltreatment policies in substantiating cases of alleged maltreatment. In parallel, there is growing pressure to reduce racial/ethnic disproportionality and disparities across the span of a child welfare case. We examined the relationship between state child maltreatment policies and substantiation, with child race/ethnicity as a moderator of this relationship. Data came from the 2019 National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) and the State Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) Policy Database. Using a series of multi-level binary logistic models, we calculated the odds of substantiation based on child characteristics (e.g., child age, number of types of alleged maltreatment) and state policies (e.g., state definitions of maltreatment that include exposure to domestic violence, harsh punishment). Approximately 17% of the variance in substantiation occurs between states. Although we did not find a direct effect of state policy on substantiation, there were significant interaction terms, in that inclusion of exposure to domestic violence, harsh punishment, or educational neglect in state policy was more strongly associated with substantiation for children of color than white children. Implications for policy and research are explored.

Public Benefit Programs and Differential Associations With Child Maltreatment by Race and Ethnicity

“…At the system level, state variation in legal definitions for maltreatment, mandatory reporting laws, and CPS practices of screening in referrals for formal investigation could all potentially contribute to minority group populations disproportionately becoming involved with CPS . In our study, if states with greater spending were also more likely to have had policies leading to overrepresentation of children who belonged to racial and ethnic minority groups in the CPS, some potential for benefit programs to prevent CPS measures of maltreatment among Black and Hispanic children may have been obscured.…”

Our Commitment to Promoting Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice in Child Maltreatment

“…We also need to consider the contributions of policy to racial disproportionality in child welfare systems. LaBrenz et al (2023) examined the relationship between state child maltreatment policies and substantiation using the 2019 National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System and the State Child Abuse and Neglect Policy Database. They did not find a direct effect of state policy on substantiation, but there were significant interaction terms, with the inclusion of exposure to domestic violence, harsh punishment, or educational neglect in state policy being more strongly associated with substantiation for children of color than for White children.…”