Decision-making in child protective services: Influences at multiple levels of the social ecology

Child Abuse & Neglect
Sarah A Font, Kathryn Maguire-Jack

Abstract

Decision-making in the child protection system is influenced by multiple factors; agency and geographic contexts, caseworker attributes, and families' unique circumstances all likely play a role. In this study, we use the second cohort of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being to explore how these factors are associated with two key case decisions-substantiation and removal to out-of-home care. Analyses are conducted using weighted hierarchical linear models. We find that substantiation is strongly influenced by agency factors, particularly constraints on service accessibility. Substantiation is less likely when agencies can provide services to unsubstantiated cases and when collaboration with other social institutions is high. This supports the concept that substantiation may be a gateway to services in some communities. Agency factors contributed less to the probability of removal among substantiated cases, though time resources and constraints on decision-making had some influence. For both substantiation and removal risks, county, caseworker, and child characteristics were less influential than agency characteristics and family risk factors.

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Citations

Mar 14, 2019·Journal of Interpersonal Violence·Sarah Font, Kathryn Maguire-Jack
Feb 20, 2018·Review of Economics of the Household·Lawrence M BergerJane Waldfogel
Apr 23, 2021·The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews·Emmy De BuckPhilippe Vandekerckhove
May 18, 2021·Archives de pédiatrie : organe officiel de la Sociéte française de pédiatrie·Marion BailhacheOlivier Richer
Aug 22, 2021·Child Abuse & Neglect·Nicolette Joh-CarnellaLaura Davidson

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