Predictors of Early Care & Education Service Use: Findings from a National Child Welfare Sample

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Young children 0-5 years old are over-represented in the U.S. child welfare system (CWS) and at heightened risk of experiencing negative developmental outcomes. Emerging research suggests early care and education (ECE) has the potential to mitigate many of these negative outcomes and help the CWS achieve its goals of safety, permanency and well-being. However, little is known about the frequency with which children in the CWS receive ECE and factors that influence ECE utilization among this population. Our study sheds light on these questions by using a nationally representative sample of children and families referred to the U.S. child welfare system for suspected maltreatment to explore rates and predictors of (a) child care receipt, (b) enrollment in center-based early education, and (c) inclusion of child care as a required part of children’s child welfare case plans.

METHODS: We used data from wave 1 of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being II on children 0-5 years old who had information available regarding whether they regularly received child care during the past year (N = 2,027), were currently enrolled in a center-based ECE program (N = 3,504), and whether child care was included in their case plan (N = 2,214). Generalized Ordered Logistic (gologit2) regression analyses were conducted to explore the effects of maltreatment type, substantiation status, and foster care status, separately on each of the three ECE outcomes, controlling for a range of child and family factors associated with ECE utilization among the general population, i.e. child age, sex, and special needs status; caregiver age, race, education, employment and marital status; and family income and size.

RESULTS: Approximately a quarter (25.2%) of young children in the U.S. CWS received child care services during the previous year, only 10.3 percent had child care as part of their child welfare case plan, and a quarter (24.8%) were enrolled in center-based early education. Being reported to child welfare because of exposure to domestic violence was associated with increased odds of child care access (OR = 2.22, p< .01), while substance exposure was associated with decreased odds of center-based ECE enrollment (OR = 0.36, p< .05). Supervisory neglect was associated with increased odds of having child care included in one’s case plan (OR = 2.11, p< .01). Case substantiation and foster care status were unrelated to any of the ECE outcomes.

IMPLICATIONS: Our findings suggest that both child care and center-based ECE are under-utilized by young children in the U.S. CWS compared to the general population, and child care is often overlooked as a source of family support during child welfare case planning. Maltreated children who are exposed to substances are particularly disadvantaged when it comes to accessing center-based early education services. Given mounting evidence that ECE can decrease child maltreatment risk and may promote placement stability and positive developmental outcomes for children in the CWS, future research and policy reforms should explore ways to increase ECE access for children in the CWS, particularly for substance exposed children.