Preventive Benefits of U.S. Childcare Subsidies in Supervisory Child Neglect.

Using data from age 3 of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, the current study explores the complex relationships between U.S. child care subsidies and neglect. Specifically, the study examines two research questions: (1) Are U.S. child care subsidies associated with self-reported neglect among low-income mothers? (2) What individual types of self-reported neglect are significantly reduced by receipt of child care subsidy? Using negative binomial regression examining the relationships among mothers who were income-eligible for child care subsidy, we found that child care subsidy was associated with lower levels of supervisory neglect, indicating an important role of subsidy in the lives of low-income families.

Physically Hazardous Housing and Risk for Child Protective Services Involvement.

The quality and safety of the home environment is a common focus of Child Protective Services (CPS) investigations.Yet little is known about whether such conditions influence CPS outcomes. The present study uses a sample of low-income families to assess the relative importance of housing conditions and other common risk and protective factors associated with child maltreatment. Results show that hazardous conditions predict investigated child neglect, but not physical abuse or indicated reports.

The effect of material hardship on child protective service involvement.

This study employs four waves of survey data on 1,135 families from the Illinois Families Study, a longitudinal panel study of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families in Illinois. This study explores the following issues within this low-income population: (1) whether material hardships are associated with child protective services (CPS) investigations, (2) whether the effect of material hardship on CPS differs by the type of child maltreatment investigated, and (3) whether psychological distress mediates the association between material hardship and CPS involvement. Results from pooled and fixed effects logistic regressions suggest that caregivers who experience material hardship are more likely to become involved in CPS. In general, investigated neglect reports are responsive to particular types of hardship such as housing and food, while investigated physical abuse reports are responsive to levels of hardship regardless of specific types. The association between material hardship and CPS involvement is not fully explained by depressive symptoms or parenting stress. The study results suggest that in order to prevent child maltreatment, it may be necessary to address a family's unmet material needs through economic support interventions.