Child Protection Services and Parents with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Background: Information about parents with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the child protection system (CPS) is evolving, yet remains largely unknown. Understanding whether decision-making in CPS is different for parents with IDD is crucial for developing mechanisms to better prepare the CPS system and its workforce for successfully working with parents with IDD. This study examined characteristics, experiences, and representation of parents with IDD across three CPS decision points, as compared to parents with other disabilities and parents without disabilities in the United States.

This study sought to: investigate the characteristics and experiences of parents with IDD who are involved in CPS, examine whether parents with IDD are disproportionately involved in CPS as compared to parents without disabilities and parents with other types of disabilities, and whether the presence of IDD predicts CPS progression over and above other parent characteristics.

Methods: The study sample was developed based on a longitudinal, population level analysis of a cohort of individuals aged 15-21 identified from statewide educational records from academic years 2001-2004 through the Minn-LInK project. The population of interest was identified through education records and to ascertain the individual’s disability status. Child protection records were used to identify parents’ CPS involvement (as alleged offenders of maltreatment, as parents of children placed in out-of-home care [OHC], and as parents whose rights were terminated) or lack thereof. To ensure consistency over time, CPS involvement was tracked for a period of 10 years. Involvement in a CPS investigation was restricted to an eight year period, allowing for cases to culminate in TPR within the 10-year observational period. CPS involvement was restricted to cases investigated between 2001 and 2012; dates of subsequent OHC and TPR were extended to 2014.

This cohort consisted of 303,039 individuals, 2,081 of whom were identified as parents in a CPS investigation (INV); 1,101 had a child in OHC, and 308 experienced TPR. Descriptive statistics, chi-square analysis, Disparity Indices with decision-point enumeration, and logistic regression were used to answer study questions.

Results: Parents with IDD were significantly more likely than parents without disabilities (but not significantly more likely than parents with other disabilities) to experience disproportionate involvement throughout CPS decision points. Parents with IDD were 2.31 times more likely to experience INV, 1.17 times more likely to experience OHC, and 2.19 times more likely to experience TPR than parents without a disability. Results of comparisons to parents without disabilities held when risk adjusted for gender, race/ethnicity, and childhood poverty.

Conclusions: Findings suggest that few individuals with IDD became involved as an alleged offender in a CPS investigation. Once involved, parents with IDD are generally over-represented at all CPS; however this representation is dependent upon the comparison group utilized and other risk factors. CPS system level changes may be necessary to reduce this disparity. Further research is needed to fully understand if parents with IDD have the parental and community supports they need, including evidence-based parent education following an assessment of parenting skills, to aid in parenting and to prevent CPS involvement.